Garden of Glass
by Lucia Hunter
Summary: NozoEri story with all previous side pairings in this arc. Lost in their own secret garden in the evening light, the love between Nozomi and Eri slowly blooms. Will the rest of Muse succeed in bringing them together? (Autumn Arc, Volume Four of my 'Songs of Muse; Songs for You' series.)
1. C1: A Familiar Scene

**Author's Note: S'up people, it's been a while. Been making pretty slow progress on this one, but I'll try to update as fast as I can. =X**

**Anyway, this is Volume Four of the Autumn Arc for my 'Songs of Muse; Songs for You' series, themed after nothing other than Garden of Glass, featuring Nozomi and Eri. But surprisingly, they don't appear as much. Ohnoes!**

**Warning: Contains 'spoilers' for previous volumes. Anyway, it's best to have read everything else in the Autumn Arc prior to this in order to get the full experience. You can check out my author profile to link to the other stories.**

**Please enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: A Familiar Scene**

The tension in the clubroom was palpable.

It was mid-afternoon after lessons had ended on a cool autumn day, within the clubroom that was dimly lit only by the weak sunlight streaming in from outside. Since it was a day without club activities, only seven members of Muse were gathered: Rin, Hanayo, Maki, Nico, Kotori, Honoka and Umi. The club president sat at the head of the table, with the second-years on the left side of the table while the first-years were opposite them.

In other words everyone except Nozomi and Eli were there, as the two of them had left to work on their university entrance exam preparations. Lately Nico had been dragged along for half their study sessions (she had been quite reluctant to begin revising this far off from the entrance exams, until Nozomi "persuaded" her it was for her own good), but had successfully wriggled out of today's by claiming she had to take care of her siblings.

The twin-tailed girl sitting at the head of the table placed her hands in front of her in a contemplative position, chairing the meeting. Leaning forwards sinisterly, she began with the question that was on everyone's minds.

"How do we get Nozomi and Eli to start dating? In the first place, we should've discussed this the moment Hanayo and Rin got together."

"Nozomi and Eli, huh," Maki repeated thoughtfully while her left hand twirled with her hair as usual.

Kotori was the next to speak up. "I'm fine with continuing how it is and letting things take its course..."

"Forget it. Couldn't you tell from the last practice we had? They're just not going to get together."

"That is indeed true," the redhead composer nonchalantly agreed with her girlfriend.

Silent till now, Umi started to raise her objection. "But..."

"Waaaaait!" Honoka's sudden outburst stunned everyone into silence as she threw her hands up. "Before that, I can't help but feel like I've seen this scene before!"

There was a brief moment of silence, before everyone decided to just ignore the orange-haired girl.

Standing up and sending her desk-chair rolling backwards, Nico flipped the whiteboard behind her as she yelled, "What makes a relationship?!" The rotating whiteboard flipped over to reveal the very title the club president had just declared, along with a few notes underneath it that she gestured at.

"I've seen this before too!"

Without missing a beat, Nico continued over Honoka's protests. "First of all, there must be mutual feelings! The two parties have to know and love each other for who they are! Secondly, there must be an event to spark off a confession! One of the parties must confess their feelings to the other, and the other must accept their feelings as well as return them! Above all else, the relationship can only continue if the two of them maintain their mutual love and respect! And at this stage, clearly the part we need to help them with is..."

"None of them, right nya?" Rin interjected.

"What the hell?!" the twin-tailed girl did a double-take, tilting her upper body and spreading her arms out wide in shock.

Honoka slumped her head on the table. "... I don't care anymore."

"We need something to trigger a confession!" Hanayo declared in a voice that brooked no argument. "The two of them clearly like each other but there's just no opportunity for them to get together!"

The blue-haired archer raised her objection once more, uninterrupted this time. "But how would you even know that in the first place? While I am in favour of helping out those two, we have no idea what Eli and Nozomi are really feeling. I don't think it's right to just interfere with their relationship without knowing that for sure."

There was another moment of silence as everyone turned to look at Umi. The easily-embarrassed girl shrank under their combined questioning stares. "... What?"

"Umi-chan, they couldn't possibly be any more obvious about it." Kotori had quite the awkward smile on her face as she delivered her reply.

"Yeah, that's right nya! Besides, Umi-chan promised to help Eli-chan that time during practice too!"

"I'm just saying we don't know for sure!.. But Rin's right, I guess I did promise Eli we would help however we could back that day. Wait Rin, you were listening?"

"Eheh... Rin was curious nya!" the orange-haired girl answered sheepishly with a hand behind her head.

After waiting for a brief moment for everyone to catch up, Nico placed her hands on the table decisively. "Okay, so we all agree we need to help them, and we just need to make an opportunity for them to confess to each other. The question now is how do we do this?"

The girls sunk into a contemplative silence as they brainstormed for ideas, pensive looks on their faces. It was not a question with an easy answer, considering how distant the seniors actually were despite how close they had always seemed. The third-years (minus a particular diminutive twin-tailed girl) had always been wise to a fault, leading their discussions, guiding them along, spotting who was emotionally distressed... It was only now that they were starting to realise just how little they actually knew about Eli and Nozomi.

"Maybe... we could just talk to them like how they did to some of us?" Kotori raised hesitantly.

"That's not going to work," came Nico's flat reply. "It's those two we're talking about. Eli would just brush everything off shyly..."

"While Nozomi-chan can see what we're trying to do from a mile away," Hanayo completed.

Umi sighed while she leaned back against her chair, losing her normal perfect posture. "Back to square one..."

After another minute of quiet pondering in which the only movement was Maki's constant twirling of her hair, the redhead finally let out a sigh of her own before contributing to the discussion in an indifferent voice.

"Why don't you all just think about how you tried to convey your feelings for each other?"

It took quite a while for the composer's words to sink in, as the other members tried to figure out what she meant. Eli and Nozomi would be the fourth couple to get together, which meant this had already happened three times before. And in each of those cases, all of them had tried the very same approach...

The conclusion hit everyone else at the same time, with their voices shouting excitedly while Honoka shot up from her seat with the force of the revelation.

"That's it!"

* * *

Across the town in a quiet and small apartment, a set of wind-chimes gently tinkled in the late autumn breeze where they hung next to an open window.

Raising her head from her notes where she had been working away alone for the past hour, Nozomi stifled a yawn as she stretched to loosen up the muscles tight from her lack of movement at the desk. Studying was never a fun thing and the constant silence of her abode, broken only by the occasional vehicle driving by, was getting to her. _Perhaps I should have asked Eli-chi to come over today after all..._

Drawing a card at random from her tarot deck, all thought of the previous topic flew out of Nozomi's head while she stared blankly at the 'Judgement' card, interpreting its meaning.

_Judgement, huh? Now that everyone else is together, guess it's finally time for us to..._

Picking up her phone, the violet-haired girl began looking up Eli's contact before pausing thoughtfully. Come to think of it, many other things were moving already, weren't they? The way the others were behaving...

She wasn't alone any more.

_There's still time._

Nozomi smiled as she placed her phone down once more. "Oho, things seems like they're about to get interesting~"

* * *

**EDIT: I would just like to add a note regarding the layout of this story. After this introductory chapter we'll be switching back and forth between the other couples and NozoEli, so it would go something like: Chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 6, chapter 3, chapter 7... and so on. The chapters are intended to be paired: Chapters 2 and 6, chapters 3 and 7, chapters 4 and 8, chapters 5 and 9. The only reason why they ended up being released separately was because they grew so much in length I had no other choice. xD**


	2. C2: Nico Can Do Anything!

**Chapter 2: Nico Can Do Anything!**

The opening notes were dramatic, echoing throughout the studio before Maki began a smoothly-flowing introduction that had a rather jazzy feel to it. Though there were plenty of empty gaps in the music, the piano provided a consistent backbone to the other instruments that could be edited in later with the music program she used. As much of a music prodigy the redhead was, there were plenty of instruments she couldn't play and so she relied on software to fill in that gap.

Sitting quietly by the table in the soundproof room, Nico watched her girlfriend's hands dance across the keyboard, careful not to make any sudden movements or noises that could break Maki's concentration. It was the first time the first-year was playing the song fresh off her head, and it was going surprisingly steady despite her not having written down the music notations yet. As a matter of fact Maki even looked like she was enjoying herself, a smile gracing her face as her movements became more pronounced and gained an extra flourish to them.

Nico found a faint smile tugging at her lips too while she placed her hands and head on the table. The amount of joy she could feel flowing off the girl she loved so much, it was impossible to resist.

It was a total change from how it had been last night, too.

* * *

*Slam!* The loud crash made her girlfriend jump as Maki stormed out of the studio without a word after having closed the cover on her piano forcefully. The abnormally-temperamental action from the cool-headed composer was a testament to just how frustrated she had gotten over the last few hours, tapping away at notes with no rhythm or flow, struggling to come up with even a single coherent set of notes.

_I should've known better than to suggest this... In the end I signed myself up for something so troublesome!_

Though of course, her anger wasn't really targeted at the task but rather her own inability to surmount it. For some reason, she just wasn't able to get the inspiration she needed. Even after having invited Nico over to accompany her while her parents were away on another one of their business trips again. Yet for the three hours Nico had sat there quietly working on her exam preparations (quite a rare feat coming from the third-year), Maki hadn't been able to make a single bit of progress.

Still fuming, Maki threw herself onto her king-sized bed and buried her face in her pillow. _Why does inspiration never come when I need it to... It was the same that time during the camping trip too._

Behind her, she heard the knob turn as the only other person in the house let herself into her room. Not bothering to move, the composer continued sulking while lying face-down on her bed.

The soft footsteps continued across the room, approaching her. _Come to think of it, Nico-chan hasn't said a single word since we had dinner together either. It must have been hard on her putting up with me..._ Maki started to turn around to face her girlfriend, only to feel something pinning her down. Warm skin slid across the back of her bare thighs, before a weight settled itself down lightly on her posterior.

"Nico-chan?.."

Small, supple hands gripped her shoulders, massaging away at the ache that had built up over the last few hours of sitting at the piano. All intelligible thought flew out of Maki's head at the sensation, and she couldn't help but let out a soft moan, with pain that she hadn't even been aware of being released. Those loving hands continued working away, removing every single kink in her muscles and leaving the composer in a slightly-dazed state of sensual pleasure.

After a while, Maki finally regained enough presence of mind to speak again. "Nico-chan... thank you."

"I'm always here to support you, Maki," the raven-haired girl replied in a quiet and serious voice. "I can't help you with writing music, but I'm always behind you, okay?"

"... Nothing's coming to mind."

"Then let's talk about other things. We have that live coming up soon, don't we? Just after New Year's." Nico slid off Maki's body and sprawled herself out luxuriously on the large bed beside her, though not without one last playful squeeze at somewhere entirely inappropriate.

Maki only sunk deeper into her pillow at the reminder. "I still haven't finished editing and formatting the new songs we'll be using that day..."

"Don't get all stressed out over it. Kotori and I haven't finished sewing the new costumes either."

"Why are we even doing this... It's not like just doing this will get them together. Plus there's no way we can use it for the next live either so there's no rush."

"Maki."

The third-year's tone was sombre, and the redhead found herself turning around to face her girlfriend. Hesitant amethyst eyes met an unwavering ruby-eyed stare of determination, and in that instant Maki knew it was something Nico would not give up on.

"When everything was nearly lost for us all those weeks back, it was Nozomi and Eli who noticed and came to talk to me. They reminded me of my feelings, and gave me the courage to chase after you again. If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't be together.

"So it doesn't matter whether it works or not. We just have to try our best, because this happiness we have, we owe it to them too."

After a brief pause, Maki's expression tightened as she made to get up from the bed, only to be pulled back down by her girlfriend. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Back to the studio?.."

"There's always time for that later on, I didn't get you to relax just for you to go get tensed up all over again. Besides, Maki-chan should be saving that energy for the rest of the night~" the twin-tailed girl found herself slipping back into her teasing voice as she rolled her girlfriend over and straddled her once more, this time from the front.

"Ni- Nico-chan, what are you... Mmph!"

The rest of Maki's protests were cut off by Nico's lips and invading tongue, sweeping across hers teasingly. Running her hands across her girlfriend's back, Maki felt a pair of lithe hands slip under her shirt.

It was almost an hour later before the two of them finally decided to take a bath and rest for the night.

* * *

"Hmm, Nico can do anything if she tries after all~"

Maki paused in her scribbling of music notations momentarily to look at her girlfriend, who had a self-satisfied grin on her face while watching Maki work away. The two of them were seated at the table in the studio just after the composer had finished playing, and she was busy transcribing the music down for further refinement later on.

It was still dark outside, since Maki had stumbled her way into the studio right after waking up, even before heading to the toilet to wash up. She had woken up with the tune fully formed in her head, and the urge to play was just too much. There was the fear that if she didn't put it down right there and then, it might be lost forever.

"... What are you even talking about, I'm the one writing away here."

"But it was Nico who gave Maki-chan the inspiration~ So it's as good as Nico who composed it!"

"Stop taking credit for everything. There are plenty of things you can't do."

"... You're still going on about last night, aren't you."

"It certainly wasn't me who was hesitating."

"I- Nico was just being considerate! As the more mature woman, Nico just doesn't want to scare her precious Maki-chan~"

"Really? Then you shouldn't have any trouble now that you know I'm fine." Maki's tone was haughty as she played with her own hair, her face tilted upwards and away.

"Ye-yeah! Nico will do it right next time!"

"Somehow I find that hard to believe given that it's you."

"What was that?! Want to go for another round right now?!"

Their eyes met again, mere centimetres from one another as their two strong wills clashed. Only to have both their faces turn red in embarrassment, finally realising what they were arguing so heatedly over. It was still so early in the morning, too.

"... Okay."

Well, they did have some time before the servants arrived. Another hour couldn't hurt.

* * *

**Author's Note: Episode 6 was just utterly full of crack. On the bright side, we finally got a Nozomi-center song. About time.**

**Also my shoulders ache from struggling to write this for hours at my com, where's my loving Nico-chan to give me a massage when I need one orz.**


	3. C6: Just One Line Away

**Author's Note: Time to jump around chronologically again because if I don't intersperse this fic with NozoEri, you people are going to start accusing me of luring you here under false pretences. ^^"**

**I'm splitting up the song lyrics across chapters, so let me just credit the Love Live! Wikia for the song translations first.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Just One Line Away**

_On our secret swing  
Swinging with you now  
Just gazing at each other softly  
A girl who's fallen in love with love; her quiet sigh is  
Lonely... contented and lonely..._

* * *

With her head propped upon her hand and a look of despondent contemplation, Eli let out a sigh as she stared out the window wistfully from where she sat in her classroom, at the trees outside that dominated most of Otonokizaka's old campus. It was almost evening with the sky a darkening shade of blue; classes were long over but she hadn't quite found the motivation to head back home just yet.

Weighing upon her mind was an issue that had only just come to her attention recently, but still something that threatened the very fabric of everything she was doing right now. Without it, there was no way she could advance in this life of hers that she had chosen, that of being a school idol.

She needed a tagline.

It all began that previous live they held, when they had done their member introductions after the opening song. Nozomi had gone first, giving a 'Nozomi power injection' to the audience before her introduction. Nico had followed it up with nothing else but her trademark 'Nico nico nii~'. Umi had nearly stuttered over her newly-devised 'Love arrow shoot!' with a burning red face, but still finished her introduction without mishap.

Sure enough, Eli wasn't the only one who hadn't settled on a tagline yet, alongside Kotori, Rin and Maki. But she had still felt like her self-introduction was lacking impact as she gave her name, before wishing the audience to enjoy their performance until the very end.

In the days since, she had overheard the first-years discussing possible taglines to use for the next live. Kotori had remained completely clueless, but Eli doubted that the costume-designer really needed one. That innocence was her trademark charm within Muse, after all.

But Eli, when she decided she wanted to do something, she would commit whole-heartedly to it. And that meant she had to come up with a tagline for herself while she was still a school idol.

Except it wasn't as easy as it had seemed. It had been a week since that last live, and she still hadn't come up with anything. How on earth did the others come up with their lines anyway, the blonde pondered as she found a frown forming on her face. Nico had it easy since the first syllable of her name was a homonym for smile. Nozomi had... well frankly speaking, Eli had no clue how Nozomi had come up with hers.

Hearing a quiet sigh from behind her, the blonde turned around only to find Nozomi already looking at her with distant eyes, though her books were spread open in front of her where she had been silently doing her homework for most of the afternoon. For a short moment, Eli lost track of what she was going to ask as she stared blankly at her best friend, at those turquoise eyes that held a tinge of loneliness within them. Somehow, she felt she was having the same emotions as her eyes locked with Nozomi's.

"Nozomi?.."

"Ah!.. Just wondering what you were thinking about, Eli-chi. You've been staring outside a lot recently."

"Oh just..." Eli paused as she considered how to phrase the question. It would seem silly if she let Nozomi know she had been fretting over her tagline for the entire week, wouldn't it?

"I was just curious how you came up with your 'Nozomi power injection' tagline." There. That question was innocent enough, right?

"You spent the entire week worrying over coming up with a tagline of your own?" Nozomi's voice held a tone of incredulity in it, causing Eli's eyebrow to twitch as she put on a resigned smile. In the end, it just wasn't possible to hide anything from the observant shrine maiden.

"Well..."

The violet-haired girl raised a hand to her mouth as she giggled. "That's what I like about you, Eli-chi. You always take everything so seriously."

"... Don't laugh..." Eli began sulking as she averted her gaze. "It just felt so awkward that last live when all I could say was that I was the Student Council President Ayase Eli. Even you didn't give your position so it was entirely unnecessary and not like an idol at all..."

"Well we're just school idols so it's fine, isn't it? As for my tagline... I just tried to think of what made me special within Muse. You know, I specialize in spiritual things, so I just wanted to give some of that spiritual energy to the audience."

"What makes you special, huh... That's troubling for me, since I don't really have anything that... Nozomi?" Eli paused at the look on her best friend's face.

"Eli-chi, you can't possibly be that dense. There are juniors who practically worship the ground you walk on."

"Yeah but that's-"

"When was the last month you didn't receive a love letter in your locker from one of your poor juniors?"

Eli opened her mouth to refute the question, only to realise she really couldn't remember the exact answer. _Wait, was there even a single month I didn't get one since I entered Otonokizaka?.._

"Do you notice the breathy, dreamy tone some of the juniors call you 'Ayase-senpai' with? Meanwhile none of those girls ever call me 'Toujou-senpai' in the same voice..." Nozomi's turquoise eyes were downcast as she lamented that last fact, her expression drooping mournfully.

For some reason, that last bit caused a mysterious pang in Eli's heart which she strictly ignored as usual.

"And if what my cards told me were right, there's an underground 'Ayase Eli Fan Club' in the school."

"Wait, what?" _I heard that wrong, right?_

"The point is, Eli-chi, you're the coolest member of Muse. So you can use that for your tagline, no?"

The blonde sighed as she conceded the point. It was a foregone argument, though it didn't sit well with her. It was only normal for most people to downplay their own good points anyway, but she had to overcome that and find her key appeal if she wanted to continue being a school idol...

"It doesn't feel like me, though... Just some idealized image the other people have of me. I'm really nowhere near that cool."

"Indeed~ The Eli-chi I know is a lot more vulnerable than that."

"... Ne, Nozomi."

"Hmm?"

"Why... don't you come up with my tagline for me?" Eli somehow couldn't help but feel her cheeks flush as she suggested so, though she had no real clue why. It was just a simple favour, why was she blushing?

"Huh? Me?" Her best friend seemed rather taken aback at the idea, as she tilted her head questioningly.

"Well I mean, we've known each other so long now... you know me best..." Oh god, her face must be practically glowing with her emotions. "There's no one else better to come up with my tagline."

"Eli-chi."

"... Yes?"

"Why are you blushing?"

"I... I'm not!" Eli waved her hands in front of her frantically as she leaned backwards to put some distance between herself and Nozomi. "It's just a little hot," she blustered while pulling at her yellow sweater to ventilate herself a bit.

Judging by Nozomi's amused stare, it wasn't working. The blonde tried to avoid the other's gaze uncomfortably as a cuckoo bird called out mockingly from the tree just outside, making the awkward silence even more so.

"Well, I can come up with one for you, but you must promise to use it~"

Eli's mysterious embarrassment fled just as quickly as a sense of apprehension took its place. After all this time beside her best friend, she knew exactly what sort of antics she would get up to just to tease her. "It's... going to be within reason, right?"

"That depends on what you find within reason~" Nozomi's eyes twinkled with mischief, only causing the blonde's misgivings to grow even more.

With an inward sigh, Eli nodded. At least Nozomi usually never went overboard with her teasing. Not when it would affect her in front of others anyway. Although the spiritual girl had always been teasing her, she had also been a comforting steady presence by her side that Eli could always count on.

Till now, if it wasn't for Nozomi, Eli doubted she would've been able to handle the student council work by herself - no, even with another vice-president. It just had to be her. Only Nozomi understood her so easily and could always save her from herself...

Gritting her teeth, the blonde shut that particular train of thought out of her mind as she felt heat rising to her cheeks again, which Nozomi thankfully didn't notice this time round.

"Ufufu... Very well Eli-chi, your new tagline is 'Super Duper High School Level Idol'. What do you think of it?"

"I... what?" Eli was flummoxed. Despite just hearing it she couldn't even remember the first half anymore.

"Just kidding~ Your tagline is 'Cool and Cute Elichika'."

The air hung still for a moment as Eli's movements ceased entirely, not daring to believe her ears.

"Hmm? Don't you like it, Eli-chi?"

"I haven't been called Elichika since I was little..." A soft nostalgic smile found its way to her face as bits of her childhood memories came to mind.

"I know. You told me once~"

"... When?"

"That time..." a brief look of confusion appeared on the spiritual girl's face, so fleeting Eli almost thought she imagined it. "Well I can't quite remember, but it was sometime earlier this season."

With a shrug of her own, Eli decided to move on. "But... 'Cool and Cute'? Really?"

"It's fine, isn't it? To me, Eli-chi is the cutest member of Muse."

Yet again, Eli felt her cheeks turning red. And judging by her best friend's wide grin stretching from ear to ear, it was entirely intentional. "D-don't tease me!"

"But I meant it~"

Eli pouted as she turned her gaze away once more, no longer able to meet Nozomi's turquoise eyes directly. "... I'll use it since you came up with it for me. But Elichika makes me sound like a child though..."

"That's the point~"

"... Nozomi!"

* * *

**Author's Note: This pairing is so cute it's hard to write them orz. And somehow while trying to visualise the scene it wasn't Eri and Nozomi I saw but their seiyuus NanjoIno and Kussun... Well, it worked out just as well anyway.**

**Also for those who recognize the reference near the end, I couldn't resist ehehe. =P**

**EDIT: For the record, those are indeed the taglines their voice actresses use during concerts. It's sort of a call and response thing where they shout out the first part and the audience shouts out the latter part.**

**Honoka (Emi Nitta aka Emitsun): Fighto da yo! Uhn!**  
**Umi (Mimori Suzuko aka Mimorin): Love Arrow, shooto!**  
**Rin (Iida Riho aka Rippi): Nya nya nya, nya nya nya; Rin-chan to ieba, Yellow da yo! (Just a reference to her character colour)**  
**Hanayo (Kubo Yurika aka Shikaco): Dareka tasuketeee! Chotto mattete! (Somebody save me! Wait a minute!)**  
**Maki (Pile): Maki-chan kawaii kakikukeko! (Only used once so far, during the most recent 4th live. It's a reference to a phonetic exercise her character once did in some of the extras.)**  
**Nico (Tokui Sora aka Soramaru): Nico nico nii~  
Eli (Nanjo Yoshino aka NanjoIno/Jorno): Kashikoi kawaii? Elichika! (Cool and cute? Elichika!)**  
**Nozomi (Kusuda Aina aka Kussun): Nozomi power chuunyuu! Hai, pushu! Itadakimashita! (Nozomi power injection! Okay, here! Thanks for that!)**

**Soooo yes. There was some basis in what I wrote. There were quite a few of them who didn't come up with their taglines all the way until the 4th concert. And then Kotori (Uchida Aya aka Ucchi) really remains clueless still. xD**


	4. C3: Words That Could Only Be Sung

**Chapter 3: Words That Could Only Be Sung**

It was a cold Saturday night when the three second-years were gathered together in Honoka's room, with the window almost completely shut to keep most of the wind out and the room at a comfortable temperature. Just earlier in the afternoon Maki and Nico had stopped by the Honoka bakery to drop off a disc with their newly-composed music on it, much earlier than Maki had estimated she would be done back during the meeting. After a couple of hurried texts, Honoka had managed to gather her girlfriends for a sleepover of their own.

But not without issues though. Both Umi and Kotori had arrived carrying schoolbags bulging with books.

_"Umi-chan, Kotori-chan, why did you two bring your textbooks?.."_

_"The next set of midterms are coming up... Mum wouldn't let me out of the house unless I promised we would have a study session because I didn't do that well for the last one," Kotori replied abashedly._

_"I'm not going to let your marks be a disgrace on Muse again, Honoka." Umi sighed as they recalled how they had barely gained the permission to take part in the first Love Live! competition. "Especially... especially not if your parents are going to think you dating has a detrimental effect on your grades."_

_"Umi-chan..." Honoka found herself at a loss for words as she realised her girlfriend's real intentions._

_"You can thank me by studying harder," the blue-haired archer replied with a droll stare. "Now let's get started already, we can work on the lyrics later at night."_

Three hours later, Honoka slammed her Math workbook shut after what felt like eternity and collapsed on the table. "So tired..."

"Honoka, we're only halfway done for the night."

"Ah, that's right!" The ginger-haired girl's energy was instantly restored as she sat up and replaced her books with her laptop. "Let's see..."

Umi sighed while she put her own books away "You only have energy when it comes to idol activities... You were dozing off earlier while working on those questions!"

"Well, that's just like Honoka-chan, isn't it?" Kotori chuckled softly. "I think it's fine."

"I'm going to play the music now!"

For the next few minutes, the three of them sat there enraptured by the dramatic and jazzy music, the saxophone's notes soaring and dipping and leading them further into the piano's melody... The amount of instruments seemed to make the music terribly chaotic, but there was a structure to it that made it feel almost complete already. All that was left was the lyrics.

"Wow... it's nothing like any of our songs up till now." Honoka murmured in disbelief.

"It seems pretty complicated..."

"That isn't the case." Umi had nothing but a wry smile on her face, her long experience of writing lyrics for their songs showing through. "It may sound like Maki left me with a tight structure, but in truth what that means is that she's already written parts of the song for me."

"Alright! Maki-chan and Nico-chan have done their best to make this music for us, so now it's our turn to contribute!" Honoka declared with fire in her eyes, pumping a fist in the air before her. "Umi-chan and Kotori-chan, let's make the best lyrics we can for Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan to confess to each other with!"

* * *

Just ten minutes later, the ginger-haired girl was fast asleep with her head lying upon Kotori's lap.

"..." Umi seemed to have resigned herself to the fact that she was the only one really working on the lyrics with her notebook in front of her, but her eyebrow still twitched each time she looked up at the other two. Meanwhile, Kotori only had a content smile on her face as her hand slowly stroked Honoka's hair.

"You're too soft on her, Kotori! She's just like a kid you spoiled," Umi grumbled, though keeping her voice considerately low. With one earpiece in her left ear, she played the music again to double-check what she had so far for the opening lines matched. Her progress had been painfully slow, though at least it wasn't at a complete standstill. But if it kept up, she wasn't going to be done any time before dawn. Plus, the few lines she had written down just didn't sit quite right with her.

Kotori giggled quietly, tilting her head with a smile so cute her girlfriend found herself enthralled by it, the verse she had been struggling with flying out of her mind. "But that's the Honoka-chan we fell in love with, isn't it? If there was something she could really do, she would definitely be awake and trying her best. But we're here just to support you, Umi-chan."

Scratching out whatever she had written so far, Umi set her pen down as she gazed longingly at her girlfriends, watching the serene scene before her. Oh, how she wished she could just join them right there and then. But there was time for that later... or at least, there was supposed to be. If only the words would just fall into place.

Umi's longing cinnamon eyes met Kotori's contented amber ones, with the latter still sporting her mysterious fulfilled smile. But that was exactly what they were there for, wasn't it? To remind her of what she had.

This happiness, this complete bliss that they owed to their seniors.

Umi didn't like to think about what happened back just before the three of them got together, though the memories still visited her from time to time. It had been an agonizing week for both Honoka and her, with so many misunderstandings and repressed emotions stirring up confusion and hurt. If Nozomi hadn't prodded them at the right time, Umi wasn't even sure if they would have been able to retain their friendship.

Everything, especially matters of the heart, was just so terribly fragile as if made of glass. Even now while they were dating, Umi had to struggle to make sure there were no misunderstandings in their everyday lives. The truth was, keeping a relationship going took even more effort than it did to start it, and she had no wish to revisit the hurt of the past.

Finally breaking her eyes away from Kotori's, Umi picked up her pen once more and began to write without even rechecking the tune. She felt as if the words were finally flowing now, her emotions being easily transcribed onto paper. Much to her surprise, she was even writing a lot faster than she usually did!

Just across the table from her, Kotori continued stroking their girlfriend's hair lightly. Honoka leaned further into the touch in her half-asleep state, with a smile and a mumble of "More..."

Umi's scribbling intensified even further.

* * *

After the blue-haired archer finally finished the song, they got the table out of the way and spread the spare futons across the floor, with Honoka waking up long enough just to get that accomplished before flopping asleep again with one arm laid possessively across Umi's waist. With her girlfriends' bodies surrounding her on both sides, Umi couldn't help but let out a contented purr, basking in the warmth and attention being showered on her.

In the end after all that work, she did deserve to enjoy herself. And cuddling in the futon was possibly one of the best things she had ever experienced in her life, especially since it wasn't something they got to do often.

A finger tracing its way down her left forearm let her know she wasn't the only one awake, the soft sensation tingling her skin even after Kotori's finger had passed. Turning her head slowly so as to not disturb their position, Umi gazed deeply into Kotori's eyes, those amber orbs drawing her in along with her deceptively innocent smile that was dimly lit by the moonlight filtering in through the gap in the curtains. Her eyes wandered lower, running over the curves covered only by a thin green nightdress.

It was a pity they were in Honoka's house where the walls were just a little bit too thin, as a blushing Yukiho had once informed them discreetly over breakfast after an eventful sleepover. Umi's room was far more convenient, but to constantly impose on the Sonoda household would also be rude. Well, cuddling was good enough most of the time anyway...

Carefully stretching her upper body without disturbing Honoka's arm, Umi laid a kiss on the designer's lips. "Go to sleep, Kotori."

"... Good night, Umi-chan. Love you two."

"Love you both too," Umi murmured back as she leaned over to Honoka and gently stole a kiss, with the ginger-haired girl smiling happily in her dreams. The stray arm around her waist tightened slightly.

_Perfect,_ the archer smiled as she closed her eyes and put her mind to rest after the long night.

She really couldn't ask for anything more.

* * *

An hour later, Umi felt her groggy consciousness being partially raised from the dead by a rhythmic sound of some sort. As if someone was trying to quietly munch on some biscuits and failing spectacularly due to their crunchy nature.

Undoubtedly, it was someone who had fallen asleep much earlier and thought eating something might help her fall asleep again. It was also unfortunately an event that the blue-haired girl was far too used to dealing with by now to need to wake up fully, or even open her eyes.

Reaching out to her right subconsciously, Umi grabbed the now vacant pillow and lobbed it with supersonic speed at the source of the noise. Silence descended upon the room once more.

_Perfect._

Ignoring the lack of warmth on her right, Umi snuggled up to her remaining girlfriend on her left and promptly went back to sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note: Forever bullying Honoka. Also I guess it's easy to see who my favourite member of this trio is.**

**I realise there's a lot of everyone else except our main pairing, but that's just how it is since it's sort of a concluding volume to this arc. ^^" I hope you all can enjoy the other fluffy and funny bits as well.**

******Anyway today's episode (S2EP7) was just so full of yuri between the second-years and NozoEri I can't take it orz. Honoka and Umi's love for each other, plus Nozomi's expressions at the end... My heart. ;_;**

**Also, torn between slowing down and working even faster because next week's episode is the long-awaited Nozomi episode. It could change everything, so... hmm. So far I'm only working with what I have off the Love Live! School Idol Diaries, but the anime has never been afraid to change details from that as what we see from Nico's siblings' personality and look changes. =/**


	5. C7: The Spiritual Girl's Dilemma

**Chapter 7: The Spiritual Girl's Dilemma**

_The heart I want to lock away_  
_Doesn't seem to be going anywhere_  
_With a lonely me_  
_Will you stay here forever_

_Ah! A maze of dreams; the glass butterflies_  
_While tempting me, they're being tempted_  
_I'll flap my fingers, but they're about to break_

* * *

Nozomi suppressed the urge to let out yet another sigh as she gripped her pen firmly and turned her eyes back down to the notebook before her. Sure enough, there was still plenty of time before the entrance exams, but if she didn't make any progress at all she would just be wasting her time now, wouldn't she?

_If I don't make any progress at all..._ A quiet sigh escaped from her unwilling lips, though thankfully it didn't attract the attention of her best friend within the room as Nozomi sneaked a glance at Eli. The look of concentration on the blonde's face was one she recognized from long experience. So long as she didn't make any sudden movements or loud noises, it was unlikely Eli would stir from her studies at all.

The two third-years were within the student council room with their books and notes spread out in front of them, covering the material they had learned in their first year. Since this was an activity that required plenty of space, Eli was at her usual seat at the head of the tables while Nozomi had taken one of the adjoining tables for herself. They had spent the whole afternoon simply organizing all the content they had learned into lists and mind-maps, which would allow them to start on more focused revision later on.

But right now it was already almost nightfall, with the sky a darkening shade of blue and the sun past the horizon. And the spiritual girl was nowhere near done despite how she had thought she would be by now. She would just have to pack up everything and finish it another day.

Giving up the ghost on completing her lists by today, Nozomi set her pen down silently and propped her head on her palms, staring at Eli. True to the blonde's utterly-focused nature she didn't even notice the gaze upon her, much to Nozomi's guilty pleasure. For a while the silence was only interrupted by Eli's scribbling and occasional flipping of a page.

During this time the spiritual girl found herself lost in her thoughts, of the time back when she had first joined the student council alongside Eli. It had... really been a long time since then, hadn't it? The two of them had come so far together, and forged a whole wealth of precious memories in the process. And yet at the same time, made completely zero progress.

A fond smile came to her lips as she recalled the compromise she had made with Eli, that she could tease her so long as she helped the student council president with the work. It was a pact that had kept not just her in the student council, but the two of them by each other's side till today. Well, she was the kind of person to tease the people she liked, so it was hardly surprising. And she could never, ever get enough of her friend's blushing. Whenever Eli was victim to Nozomi's pranks she had that faint tinge of red dyeing her cheeks and those uncertain embarrassed eyes, creating a visage so cute it was criminal.

But they were best friends, and best friends only.

That wasn't to say Nozomi wasn't interested in Eli though, far from it. From their very first meeting, she had already known the blonde was special. And in the days since then, she had grown to like her in ways far more than any friend should. Especially since they were both girls. Not that she could really help it though, after coming to know the adorable, slightly silly and childish girl beneath the cool, serious and authoritative persona that Eli projected. Such a dichotomy of character Nozomi had never experienced before, and she was one of the privileged few to know the real Eli for who she really was.

Her smile was starting to resemble one more of helplessness, as she remembered what she had once thought and written down in her diary back during their first encounters. That she expected the two of them to stay together for a very long time to come. _Looks like it came true in a pretty painful way._

To be so close to the girl she loved, yet so far apart.

Nozomi was not a helpless damsel. She was indeed just as much an innocent young girl at heart as everyone else within the Idol Research Club, but she had always been aware of her own emotions. It was something she had picked up naturally after having moved houses all over during middle school, and then finally settling down alone in her apartment. Sure enough she had loving parents who cared for her in their own ways, but in the end the best person to take care of her was only herself.

For quite a while now, Nozomi was convinced she was in love with Eli. She wasn't sure how Eli felt, but she did think that if there hadn't been any attraction on her end, surely Eli wouldn't blush _so much_ all the time... So that was all the reason to confess, and the spiritual girl certainly wasn't lacking in courage to do what needed to be done either.

No, the issue lay with something deeper, and that was the very foundation of their friendship. The one thing that had made them perfect for each other was the one biggest block in their path.

The fact that they saved each other.

For a very long while in her life, Nozomi had been alone. Shifting houses for the first time as a child due to her parents' work was a harrowing experience. In just one week, she had lost everything: her friends, the room and house she had gotten so used to, her familiar neighbourhood, the hundred-yen candy store she always visited, everything. It felt like her life had ended and begun anew in a strange new land in a different city.

What was scarier was the fact that she had gotten used to it by the fourth move. By then she had learned the futility of making new friends, or even getting attached to her neighbourhood. All she had was herself and the things she brought with her. Everything else was transient and there was no point putting down roots when they would just have to be cut later on.

That only changed when Nozomi finally entered high school and decided enough was enough. She was old enough to live by herself at last, and was tired of moving all over. So she settled down in Otonokizaka Academy... but still found herself distant from people. Old habits died hard.

Until a certain sapphire-eyed blonde came into her life and shook it up, forcing her to abandon her old concepts of human relations and finally trusting someone enough to reach out. For the first time in forever, Nozomi made a real friend. And that friend Eli was the one who saved her from loneliness and her solitary life.

If Nozomi wasn't wrong and over-crediting herself, she had done a lot for Eli's state of mind, too. Her best friend was almost perfect, but that self-doubting, hesitant inner nature of hers was the biggest weight holding her down. The fortune Nozomi had drawn back then, she knew it was right eventually. If she hadn't been there to help Eli with the student council, the girl would definitely have become lost.

So it was Nozomi who saved Eli from her own indecisive, hesitant self. And all that had happened in the span of a few weeks after getting to know each other, which should have been the perfect time for love to blossom. Except Nozomi couldn't bring herself to confess back then.

To have jumped into a relationship at that time would've been one based on pity and obligation. Not love. At that point, they simply owed each other too much.

And as time passed, the spiritual girl only found herself more and more trapped by her emotions, by the heart she had locked away out of consideration for their situation. Nothing was going anywhere, and things remained unchanged. Most of all her feelings.

Even if the two of them stayed together as friends forever, Nozomi felt her daily life getting steadily lonelier once more.

* * *

Returning to the present, Nozomi blinked and frowned as her vision regained focus, finally noticing the state of her best friend. Sometime while she was lost in her reverie Eli had simply slumped on the table asleep, her back rising and falling with her breath. At least the blonde had retained the presence of mind to cap and place her pen safely by the side before doing so, as expected of her meticulous nature.

Not that it would redeem her from the shrine maiden's imminent teasing. Nozomi opened her mouth to wake up her best friend, only to reconsider. A situation like this called for something special, right? It wasn't often she got the chance with Eli being so defenceless...

Plus, it had been a pretty bad day with how little progress on her notes she had made, distracted as she had been by her beloved. Some relief would be nice.

_I hope the gods can forgive me for being this selfish..._ Nozomi prayed as she got up as quietly as she could and slipped behind her best friend, careful not to disturb the air too much.

Hovering over the sleeping blonde, the violet-haired girl paused to admire the sight. It wasn't often she got to see Eli so close-up, and she loved every feature of her face. The smooth porcelain skin, that sharp nose and petite mouth, those long eye-lashes, every lustrous golden strand of hair... There was movement behind the eyelids as Eli's pupils darted about, undoubtedly locked in a dream of some sort. As if to confirm that, some unintelligible murmur came out of her luscious lips. Nozomi took a deep breath, inhaling the faint scent of roses wafting off Eli's hair.

Nozomi liked watching cute girls, but there was no doubt who held reign over them all as the cutest in her heart.

Positioning her hands over her best friend's chest, Nozomi swallowed nervously with butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. This was supposed to be just business as usual for her, but it felt vastly different all of a sudden. As if she was about to cross a certain line that could never be undone.

And perhaps that was why when she finally flexed her fingers and made contact, she used a lot less force than she had originally intended to.

"Ahh!..."

Eli's head had shot up with her eyes still half-lidded, lolling back where it touched Nozomi's shoulder where she was bending over just behind. As the spiritual girl realised her mistake of not putting in enough force, Eli turned her head sideways into Nozomi's neck where she began a nuzzling motion, the tip of her nose leaving tingles on Nozomi's skin.

Despite knowing her mistake, Nozomi couldn't help but hold on to the situation, quite literally. For a few seconds more she simply revelled in the sensation as she continued caressing Eli's chest. In response the sapphire-eyed girl moaned, the vibrations reverberating through Nozomi's collarbone and making her shiver in delight. Oh, how long had she dreamed of this. Though her daydreams had been somewhat naughtier, the reality of the sensations electrifying every single one of her nerve-endings this moment was heavenly. The soft, supple texture underneath her hands, the heat of the body leaning against hers, the warm moist breath tickling her neck...

All too soon, her rational mind caught up and forced her to let go and step back. Eli jerked wide awake as her head lost its support, blinking rapidly to clear the sleep-dust as an expression of horror took hold of her face.

"No-Nozomi, what just..."

"Are you awake now, Eli-chi?" Nozomi replied in her normal teasing tone as she went back to her seat, starting to pack up her books.

A multitude of emotions flooded her best friend's face, coming and going in rapid succession. Horror, confusion, longing, regret, before finally settling on a frail imitation of her normal smile which failed to fool Nozomi. "I... Yes. Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"Let's get going then, it's already pretty late~"

Well, at least Nozomi was far better at putting on a calm facade than her best friend.

* * *

As the pair walked along the streets, neither of them mentioned what had transpired in the student council room. Perhaps that was for the best, since that look of confusion on Eli's face Nozomi had seen was a sign that they weren't ready for it quite just yet. As much as her feelings hurt her, there was still time... the rest of forever together to come to terms with their feelings.

"Are you sure you have time to be sleeping while studying, Eli-chi?" The violet-haired girl couldn't help but tease Eli in a bid to lighten the mood and create some conversation.

"I couldn't help it, I was tired... And stop teasing me, you weren't focusing very well today too, weren't you?"

Nozomi tilted her head in surprise, since she hadn't been aware that Eli had noticed. "Well yes... but this is about you!"

"I'll let you lecture me on studying habits when you finally score higher than me on a midterm," Eli smiled wryly as she countered the shrine maiden's teasing. "You came pretty close for that last one we had, too."

With a pout that made her best friend laugh, Nozomi fell into a comfortable silence alongside Eli as they made their way home, finally coming to the intersection where they usually parted.

"See you tomorrow," the blonde said simply before she crossed the road.

Quietly watching Eli from where she was, Nozomi was surprised to see her turn around after reaching the other side and glance back, which she normally never did.

Separated by the road between them, surrounded by people going about their everyday lives, turquoise and sapphire eyes gazed into each other, locking their owners in place. For that moment the two of them alone were set aside from the bustle of the city, lost only in each other's painful, longing stare.

What had happened earlier was on their minds. Both of them knew it. Neither of them would admit it. It was easier to brush it under the carpet and pretend it didn't happen after all, no matter how much the two of them had enjoyed it.

Nozomi sighed for the umpteenth time that day as she finally lost Eli in the growing after-work crowd. The day they had to confront their feelings was fast approaching.

* * *

_Our secret romance  
And even though I want to feel you  
All we can do is painfully gaze at each other  
The feelings we can't have as girls who are in love with love  
Why do they have to be so painful?_

* * *

**Author's Note: Definitely not imagining Jorno and Kussun for this one, that's a little... ehehe. And we're back to NozoEli! Enjoyed it? =3 I hope you guys did. The fluff was pretty short since the focus was on their relationship, but I tried my best.**

**Not sure if I read Nozomi's character properly here. I tried my best with what I have off the School Idol Diaries, but I might have to come back and retcon this chapter next Monday. I'll make a note if there's been any major changes.**

**Anyway, I've been struggling to improve my style to be more descriptive, so let me know how that works out. As well as the "fluffy" bit, let me know if I'm crossing the line there (I decided to revert back to a T rating for a wider audience, should be fine as long as I avoid the stuff that actually happens in the bed, right?). xD Leave me a review or drop me a PM, anything.**


	6. C4: The Strongest And Weakest Members

**Chapter 4: The Strongest And Weakest Members Of Muse**

"I can't do this! Somebody save meeee!"

"Kayo-chin, calm down!" Rin pulled at her girlfriend's arm to stop her from escaping, keeping her in the classroom despite being a mere meter away from the door. In the first place Rin wouldn't have any trouble catching Hanayo anywhere, but it would be troublesome if matters got outside.

Both first-years were alone inside their classroom, with their classmates having left for club activities or simply gone home. As for the members of the Idol Research Club, it was finally the day for their grand plan to take place. Earlier in the week Honoka had simply cancelled practice and declared it a day for 'bonding activities', and now most of them were preparing for the mini-party that was supposed to take place on the rooftop where they trained. Minus the two of them who had drawn the duty of what was possibly the hardest part: _actually giving_ the songs to Nozomi and Eli.

Just a few minutes earlier on, Honoka had simply waltzed into the classroom with a nervous smile on her face, clutching two envelopes tighter than necessary.

_"Thanks for waiting you two~"_

_"Honoka-chan, you're late nya!"_

_"Sorry ehehe. It took longer to get away than I thought. Anyway, we'll send Eli-chan to the student council room and Nozomi-chan to the club room in ten minutes, so be ready to meet them there, okay?" The ginger-haired girl was strangely fidgety as she imparted her instructions. "You two already have the music Maki-chan composed on your phones, right?"_

_"Mm!" "That's right nya!"_

_Honoka put the envelopes down on Hanayo's table, though keeping her palm firmly on them while she glanced at the door. "Okay, so here are the lyrics Umi-chan wrote... and... good luck."_

_Before the first-years could register it, the leader of Muse was already out the door and running as fast as she could._

_"That was weird nya."_

_Hanayo tilted her head questioningly as well at her senior's odd actions, but then blanched before she quickly opened the envelope and scanned its contents._

_"HONOKA-CHAN!"_

_Unfortunately, Hanayo's calls were unheeded by the girl who was already far away by that time._

"Just look at these lyrics, Rin-chan! This is bad! How on earth are we going to give them to Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan?!" The brunette was almost hyperventilating as she clutched at one of the lyrics sheets with trembling hands, utter panic evident on her face. "This is... this has got to be illegal! We're still high-schoolers!"

"But running away isn't the solution nya! You have to face the problem head on!"

"But..."

Kneeling down beside Hanayo's seat, Rin took a firm hold of her girlfriend's hands in her own as their eyes met. "Listen to Rin, Kayo-chin. You can do this. Rin knows you can, just because it's you. You definitely have the courage to do so."

"Rin-chan..." Hanayo was finally starting to calm down.

"It was Kayo-chin who wanted to do this in the first place, right? You were the one who first thought we should do something for Eli-chan and Nozomi-chan. Kayo-chin was the one who brought everyone together and drove them to actually do something. If it wasn't for you, this song wouldn't even be made nya!"

The catlike girl's enthusiasm was contagious. When Hanayo had first seen the lyrics, she had been floored by the sheer _audacity_ of the words, and the hard reality of just how crazy this endeavour was had finally crashed on her. But all that was now fading away as she found her confidence once again. A part of her that had previously come to life solely for the sake of the girl whose topaz eyes she was mesmerized by at the moment.

"Trust in Rin, Kayo-chin. It will definitely be alright. Promise."

Hanayo took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds, before letting it out along with all her hesitation.

"I love you, Rin-chan."

One of Rin's hands reached back to scratch at her head to conceal her embarrassment. "Not- not so sudden, Kayo-chin..."

With a soft giggle, Hanayo leaned in for a kiss, and her girlfriend obliged hesitantly after a quick glance around to make sure they were still alone. Though she had been initially reluctant to indulge in physical intimacy, Rin had gotten surprisingly good at kissing over the last week, making Hanayo feel like her blazer was a size too small and just too warm despite the cold weather.

The orange-haired girl was the first to pull away, taking one of the envelopes. "It's almost time, we need to get going nya~"

"Mm!"

"Then, Rin will be going to the student council room. Sorry Kayo-chin, but Rin is afraid too nya~" With a mischievous smile, Rin dashed off into the corridor like their senior had just earlier, leaving a stunned Hanayo behind.

_Wait, that means the one I'm going to talk to is... Nozomi-chan?!_

"SOMEBODY SAVE MEEE!"

* * *

With her heart pounding like a jackhammer, the timid girl slunk into the clubroom as quietly as she could, only to find Nozomi already sitting in her usual seat with her tarot deck placed in front of her. Three cards were laid out from left to right: 'The Lovers', 'The Moon', and 'Judgement'. With a tilt of her head, the spiritual girl muttered something that sounded like "Of course..." to Hanayo.

"Nozomi-chan?.."

"Oh, Hanayo-chan. Nico-chi sent me here to help you out with making decorations," Nozomi grinned widely as she put her cards back together. Despite her words, absolutely nothing of relevance to decoration was on the table. Putting her tarot deck away, the violet-haired girl turned to stare at her junior with an expectant look.

_Wh-why is Nozomi-chan looking at me like that?!_ Hanayo found what little confidence she had left completely melting away under the pressure, but the turquoise gaze kept her locked in place like a deer under headlights. _I can't run away, not now! _

Advancing under her senior's gaze felt like crawling under heavy enemy fire upon a battlefield, but she somehow managed to muster the courage to do so after remembering the warmth of Rin's hands around her own. With a monumental effort, Hanayo moved to take the seat opposite Nozomi, placing the envelope on the table before herself as well as her phone.

"So?" A single word delivered without malice or arrogance, merely an innocent curiosity that made Hanayo's job that much harder.

_But then again, this is Nozomi-chan... She always knows what's going on, doesn't she?_ Gripping her knees to steady herself, the brunette let out a hesitant question. "Nozomi-chan... do you know what's going on already?"

"Hmm let's see..." Nozomi replied with a tilt of her head and a hand placed on her cheek thoughtfully. "Everyone except Eli-chi and I has been doing something behind our backs?"

"... Mm."

"Everyone's been pretty fidgety lately. And Honoka would never cancel practice this close to another live without a good reason."

"... I guess so..."

"When Umi-chan sent Eli-chi to the student council room for something she forgot, that was suspicious enough. But then Nico-chi sent me down here just minutes after. So, what have you all been up to?"

Hanayo realised belatedly that in all their planning meetings, this was a section they had never quite covered. Make a song, write the lyrics, get Nozomi and Eli to sing it together, and love would blossom, right? Except things weren't quite that simple. Before they could confront each other, they first had to be confronted with their own feelings.

And from her own experience, Hanayo knew that was possibly the hardest part. She hoped Rin was having an easier time with Eli where at least there wasn't a danger of getting groped.

"Nozomi-chan, how... how do you feel about Eli-chan?" The words came out bluntly, even though they had sounded much smoother in her head. The first-year cringed as she heard her own question out loud, wishing she could have found a better way to lead into the topic.

"I like Eli-chi, of course. Everyone in Muse does, don't they?"

"No, not like that... Like... Rin-chan and I." Hanayo felt blood rushing to her own face; talking about her relationship was never quite a comfortable topic.

"Hmm? But Eli-chi and I haven't known each other since childhood."

"No! Like... Nico-chan and Maki-chan!"

"Eli-chi and I don't fight that much..." The spiritual girl tilted her head once again with an innocent smile, but with mischief glittering in her eyes at the discomfort Hanayo was going through.

Faced with her growing frustration, Hanayo found uncharacteristically straightforward words tumbling out of her mouth even before she realised it. "Nozomi-chan, are you in love with Eli-chan?!"

The mischief in Nozomi's eyes melted away, replaced with a soft, distant look. "Yes Hanayo-chan, I love Eli-chi. Very, very much."

Seizing upon the momentum she had, the brunette continued with her plan. "Everyone else came together to write a duet song for you two. The plan is for you two to sing it later during the party and... hopefully confess..."

Now that she said it out loud, it sounded ridiculous even to herself.

"Oh? That's interesting~ Whose idea was it?"

"Nico-chan and Maki-chan composed the music, and the second-years wrote the lyrics..."

"Of course, but who was the one who decided to ask everyone to do this? I'm curious who was so interested in meddling with Eli-chi and I without even asking our opinions~"

The air seemed to freeze as Hanayo processed the words, noting the implied disapproval behind Nozomi's amiable tone. She felt like a criminal on death row looking down the barrels of a firing squad, her heart racing and almost pounding out of her chest while she squeaked the answer. "... Me?"

Nozomi's chair slid backwards when she stood up, her hands hovering menacingly as she advanced on the defenceless first-year. "My my, isn't that thoughtful of Hanayo-chan. Sounds like someone really deserves a reward~"

The brunette let out a loud squeal, folding her arms upon herself to protect her chest and closing her eyes tightly. _I knew it! Nozomi-chan is going to punish me for meddling after all!_

But the arms that wrapped themselves around her weren't treacherous or frightening at all, but comforting. For a while Hanayo's mind blanked out as she felt Nozomi's warmth enclose around her, the back of her head pressed against the motherly third-year's chest.

"Thank you, Hanayo-chan. It makes me really happy."

Receiving not quite the reaction she was expecting, Hanayo was stunned into silence.

"You might have heard this from Rin-chan already, but because you two were always so close and solved your own problems by yourselves, I never really had to interfere. So about that, I'm sorry."

The brunette's movements ceased as she felt her forehead crease into a frown. Just like Rin previously, something about that just didn't sit right with her.

"I'm sorry for sidelining you two all this while." Nozomi's voice was low and shaky, shivering with her unfathomable emotions that Hanayo couldn't quite comprehend. But she did know at least one thing that was wrong.

"That's not true!" Gathering her determination, Hanayo pulled Nozomi's hands off her and stood up, moving in front to look the violet-haired girl in the eye. This close, the height difference of a few centimetres seemed vast but Hanayo stood as tall as she could.

"Everyone in Muse is equal, Nozomi-chan. Eli-chan and you taught Rin-chan and I that. If you're busy looking after everyone, where does that leave you? That can't possibly be right!"

Hanayo didn't know just where her bravery and the words spewing forth were coming from. Perhaps they were just something that had been hidden in her heart for a long time, behind her character of a timid girl. But after the last couple of weeks, it was time to stop hiding. If she could just hang on to this courage that Rin and the rest of Muse had given her, she could advance, and with everyone alongside her.

"We really appreciate everything you do for us, Nozomi-chan. Everyone thinks that if it wasn't for you and Eli-chan, none of us would have been able to find happiness. But that doesn't mean it's your job to take care of everyone! If you feel that way, don't you think the one person you've actually been sidelining is yourself?!"

Critical hit. The calm and controlled facade that Nozomi always had on seemed to shatter as a whole slew of unfamiliar emotions flooded her face, contorting it into expressions Hanayo had never even seen before on her senior. The spiritual girl looked confused, maybe even a little panicked. But underneath it all was a tinge of sorrow set in her eyes that refused to budge.

"Honoka-chan once said that our greatest strength as Muse is that there are nine of us. If any of us get stuck, the rest of us are there to pull them out of it. If any of us get worn out, the rest of us are there to give them a push. We'll all get stuck and be unsure of ourselves at some point, but we'll always be able to move forward if we all stick together."

The memory of the time Hanayo had spent in the hot springs during the camping trip was faint since it seemed so long ago, but the words had stuck deep in her memory. They were words that kept her moving onwards, that she saw come true time and time again within Muse. As a group, they would always continue advancing as one.

Stepping closer, the brunette pulled Nozomi into a hug, though it felt pretty awkward when certain parts of their bodies collided before the rest and kept most of their warmth from touching. Still, at least this finally felt more like something between friends, instead of a mother-daughter relationship. "Everyone came together to help you, Nozomi-chan. But it's not because you were the one who helped all of us. It's because you are one of us, and we don't need any reason other than that. So please, let us help."

It took a while, but Hanayo felt a pair of limp arms encircle her as Nozomi returned the hug at last. The spiritual girl let out a self-depreciating chuckle, her emotions running rampant in the air.

"... I'll be in your care then."

* * *

**Author's Note: And the tables are flipped. Who is the strongest member of Muse, and does such a person really exist? For a long time in most official materials (anime, School Idol Diaries, School Idol Festival stories) it was Nozomi. Except to keep her there is unfair not to the rest, but to her. This chapter was just to try and bring across that fact, along with S2 Episode 8 which just aired.**

**Speaking of which, S2 Episode 8? It's deadly. I cried and kyaaed so bad at the same time I don't even know what I was feeling. Nozomi's backstory was just so touching.**** It turns out I don't have to retcon anything after all, which is a bonus.**

**A shoutout to the people who have been reviewing regularly: Major Mike Powell III, Bad one, OrientalFail... Your support is really appreciated! It keeps me writing at least hehe. ^^"**

**For those who are demanding more NozoEri, they're coming up again the next chapter. My outline actually went like this: Chapter 1, paired 2/6, paired 3/7, paired 4/8, paired 5/9, then epilogue. I was planning to release them in pairs much like Love marginal, but somehow each of those paired chapters grew massively in length to form whole chapters of their own. xP More content, more fluff overall, so I suppose no one should really be complaining huh. It just takes a wee bit longer for your dose of NozoEri~**

**To my Rin fan I'm sorry orz. She didn't quite fit into this chapter but I definitely didn't forget about her. DX**


	7. C8: Left In The Dark

**Chapter 8: Left In The Dark**

_We'll fall asleep in our Flower Garden  
I love your hand as it strokes my hair; more..._

_Our secret romance  
And even though I want to feel you  
All we can do is painfully gaze at each other  
The feelings we can't have as girls who are in love with love  
Why do they have to be so painful?_

* * *

Some people like the rain. For them, the sound of raindrops pattering against the windows, falling against the ground is a soothing sound, either lulling them to sleep or shutting out the noise of the world to let them concentrate. Some others hate it, for the dampness it created, or the general air of misery from trudging home under umbrellas that just could never shut out the rain properly and puddles that splashed upon their legs no matter how careful they were.

Eli found herself caught somewhere between the two extremes. And that was why she was still studying away within the student council room despite how late it was getting, both hoping the rain would last until she finished this current chapter, and that it would end by the time she was done so she could get home. Unfortunately the storm showed no signs of letting up any time soon, having blown up suddenly just a couple of hours ago. Such storms were uncommon in autumn, and it seemed a remnant of summer's rainy season that had yet to fade. With a glance at her watch, she noted it was already evening, a time when the sky would've already been a deepening twilight blue if it wasn't for the clouds that covered the skies almost pitch-black.

At least she wasn't hungry just yet, so that wasn't a problem. And she had already informed her family she would be late in returning, something they were starting to get used to from the study sessions she was having with Nozomi lately.

_Nozomi..._ Just a passing thought of the violet-haired girl led to a whole stream of them, speeding through her head and scattering her concentration like a battering ram. For a while Eli could only grip her pen tightly as memories of a few days back came to mind, causing her heartbeat to triple and a rush of blood to her head. It was a state she had started becoming very used to recently, hitting her throughout her day. Whenever she was distracted during class, zoning out while studying, experimenting with her accessories, sitting in the bath, or lying in the bed just before she fell asleep, the memories were always ready to pounce upon her.

There was just no denying how good, how right it had felt. She couldn't remember what she was dreaming just before she woke into that hazy consciousness, but she was sure it hadn't been that far off. The transition from her sweet dreams into such a pleasurable reality had been so smooth she hadn't even realised it at first, simply enjoying the exhilarating thrill of Nozomi's hands upon her chest. No one had ever touched her that way before, and to have Nozomi be her first... she wouldn't have had it any other way.

The aftermath had been quite messy though. In the last few days she had caught Nozomi staring at her even more than usual, and had been caught returning those dreamy looks in kind quite a few times. It was getting ridiculous to the point it almost felt like they were just taking turns to stare at one another, and pointedly ignoring the other even knowing they were being gazed at.

_We got by the last year with these emotions, why did it become so impossible all of a sudden..._

Unable to help it, Eli found herself sneaking yet another glance at the spiritual girl, who had a frown on her face as she rubbed away at her temple with her left hand. Though Eli was glad those turquoise eyes weren't fixated on her, seeing her best friend in pain brought a surge of concern. "Nozomi? Are you alright?"

"Hmm? Just... a bit of a headache. It's nothing."

"Are you sure? I can go get you some medicine from the nurse's office," Eli offered while rising from her seat.

"No, it's alright. Just... stay here..." _With me._ The last words were left unspoken, but the meaning was clear. Just between the two of them, they had come to know each other so well that even their expressions spoke louder than words.

Torn between Nozomi's wishes and her own logical thoughts, the blonde found herself trapped in place, hesitating as she sunk back down into her seat although her leg muscles remained tensed and ready to rush over to her best friend's side at the drop of a pin. What was the best course of action? What was Nozomi suffering from? What should she do?

Why did she even care so much?

But no matter whether it was a minor headache or not, she couldn't help but feel overwhelming waves of worry and anxiety washing over her, leaving her helpless and lost. Nozomi had always, always been there to comfort and support her when she needed it, so why couldn't she return the favour when it mattered the most? Just... just what was she so afraid of, all this time? Of risking their friendship? Of risking her reputation by dating a girl? Neither of them were very good reasons. Nozomi clearly liked her back, and reputation was not something she cared about, even if explaining things to her family and friends would be tough...

Eli took another look at Nozomi, who was forcefully trying to continue studying. Despite the stoic look on her face, Eli could see the hints of a grimace upon it: the cheek muscles that twitched from time to time, the dead set gritting of her jaw, the brows that were straightened out too much to be natural.

In the end, maybe she had just been afraid of her own emotions, still living in the shadow of her own weak, hesitant self. Confused by her feelings for her best friend, she had begun running from them ever since the beginning, firmly shutting out all thoughts of Nozomi in that light even when it started becoming more and more apparent the two of them felt the same way about each other. And because it was the one matter Nozomi never prodded her on, she hadn't been able to progress one bit.

_I can't stay like this forever. All this while Nozomi has been pushing me onwards to face myself and my feelings, I can't wait for her to lead me on everything. This relationship between us, I have to be the one to take the first step!_

Feeling her resolve settle upon her like a suit of armour, Eli rose up from her chair and walked over, determined to pull the violet-haired girl into her arms and give what comfort she could in her own way. With her approach their eyes met, and the pain seemed to fade off Nozomi's face upon seeing the decisive light within Eli's sapphire gaze. "Eli-chi?.."

This was it, this was the moment she had been waiting for pointlessly for the previous year. Only it was her who was taking on the role of the knight in shining armour instead, but that was fine with her so long as the result would be the same. If it was for Nozomi, the precious girl who had always been at her side and always understood her no matter what, she could scale the tallest mountains and drain the seas one teaspoon at a time.

Except when Eli took that one last step towards the girl she had been secretly pining for all this while, a bolt of lightning struck incredibly close with a burst of light and noise that seemed to rattle her very bones. In the same instant all the lights died with a flicker, leaving the room in near-complete darkness.

For a second, there was utter silence within the room, broken only by the continuous pitter-patter of raindrops upon the windows.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

* * *

The next few moments passed in a blur for Eli, with no real clue as to what was happening or what she was doing. All she knew was that she was kneeling on the floor with a death-grip around the nearest source of warmth with her eyes tightly shut, and there was no way she was letting go any time soon. No matter how old she had gotten, the fear of the dark had persistently dogged her ever since she was a child; even till now she still slept with a night light on.

Holding on to Nozomi wasn't really helping though, not with the spiritual girl sitting there unmoving like a statue. Eli felt a shiver run down her spine as her skin tingled from a slight breeze that felt like the breath of imaginary monsters just waiting to devour her. Suddenly everything seemed much more terrifying, with the minute creaks and groans of the old school building sounding ominous in the near-darkness. When she opened her eyes just a bit, even the silhouettes of trees waving in the wind outside looked like they were reaching out with their branches towards her, waiting for her to let her guard down before they could grab her.

"No-Nozomi," the blonde found herself whimpering. There was no need for a strong front when it was just Nozomi, the girl who knew everything about her; this was someone she could be weak around. But why was she still not responding? Eli felt like she was on the brink of tears, and sure enough, she could hear her quiet wracking sobs over the sound of the rain that was starting to get louder, drowning most of the other noises out.

_Wait. I'm not crying._

Seized by a fear greater than that of the dark, Eli forced herself to disentangle her arms from her best friend, and called out again. "Nozomi?.."

There was no answer, except for the continuous sound of weeping she had never heard from Nozomi before. Just what was afflicting the girl so badly that she was actually crying for once?

Before she could force herself to stand up and take a closer look though, Nozomi had gotten up so abruptly she sent her chair sliding backwards. With eyes marred with confusion, she turned her gaze upon Eli. An emotion that the blonde well shared. In a more cautious voice, Eli called out her best friend's name once more. "Nozomi, what's wrong?"

Third time was the charm. The spiritual girl practically dived upon Eli, though she was careful to break their fall and land Eli's back upon the floor gently. With Nozomi's hands on both sides of her head and a thigh inching dangerously close between her legs, Eli found herself trapped under the larger girl's body.

But it was the eyes that had her snared in the dim light. Those turquoise eyes that smouldered gently with passion despite the confusion and sadness that still lingered, those eyes that were finally, finally gazing into hers directly. And Eli knew that she was returning the same look just as much, at the girl who had held her heart since their first meeting. That afternoon on the stairs when they were still first-years, where Nozomi had first called out to her and gave her name with a dazzling smile despite Eli's awkward and cold reply.

"I- ..." With a voice hoarse from crying, Nozomi mouthed something only to have most of it drowned out by the sound of thunder. But when she dipped her head down to bring their lips together, Eli knew exactly what to do. Their first kiss was hot and passionate, their bodies pressed tightly against each other as if they just couldn't get close enough. Eli's hand roamed over Nozomi's back, one hand stroking it soothingly to ease the mysterious pain from earlier while the other pulled her violet hair free of its hair ties. Meanwhile Nozomi returned the favour, pulling Eli's golden hair free of its ponytail and sending it cascading across the floor. This was not the right place for this, both of them knew that, and so barely held on to their sensibilities even as their kiss dragged on.

It was almost too much to resist though, just how electrifying the moment was. Eli felt like her entire body was finally coming alive, the adrenaline and hormonal rush even greater than anything she had experienced during a live. Nozomi's body pressing her down was both soft and firm, a steady anchor she held onto desperately even as the world fell away in a spin around her. She ran a finger down the violet-haired girl's spine, drawing out a moan and a shiver that only stoked her own passion further. Resisting the urge to thrust her hand beneath the other girl's shirt, Eli settled for gripping Nozomi tighter and caressing her cheek instead.

When Nozomi finally rose up again, her eyes were freed of the pain they had carried, only containing love and ardent devotion for the girl beneath her. "I love you, Eli-chi."

Hearing the words she had always been waiting for, Eli couldn't help but feel a warm giddy feeling spread throughout her body, starting from her heart and tingling her ears and toes. "I love you too, Nozomi," she murmured as she put her arms around her new girlfriend's neck and pulled her back down.

Clean, and simple. Words that had been a year overdue only because they had spent that entire time overthinking things or running away from their feelings.

Though the room was still as dark as ever, she had never felt this safe and secure in her life.

* * *

A few minutes later the two of them relocated to the cushioned bench within the room, where Nozomi delicately laid Eli's head down upon her lap and stroked her hair softly. It seemed like the staff was taking quite long to fix the electrical outage. Maybe there wasn't even anyone working on it, late as it was. Eli found herself unable to really care.

"Still afraid of the dark, Eli-chi?" Nozomi's voice had regained its normal tone, amusement lingering on the edge of her words. "You're such a baby~"

The teasing elicited a pout from Eli, though she knew her girlfriend couldn't really see it in the dark and with half her face buried in Nozomi's warmth. "I just have bad memories from childhood..."

"Then we'll just have to make more happy memories to overcome them, don't we~" The rich sound of Nozomi's voice and Kansai dialect washed over the blonde, making her feel warm and fuzzy inside. It was a voice she just loved hearing, and she would record it down to let it lull her to sleep if she could.

With a contented purr, Eli snuggled deeper into Nozomi's stomach, taking in a deep breath. Faint scents of incense and venerable wood drifted into her nose, a scent which put her at ease as the tender strokes on her hair continued.

"Such a baby..." Nozomi repeated once more, affectionately. Eli turned her head upwards to face her lover, and their eyes met in the dim light; turquoise and sapphire eyes that spoke of love, passion, and a future together. Eli found herself suddenly short of air as her breath was stolen from her in a contented sigh.

That gaze might have lasted a moment or an eternity.

After all, they were in this quiet place lost in time and space with just the two of them. And that was all that mattered.

* * *

_On our secret swing  
Swinging with you now  
Just gazing at each other softly  
A girl who's fallen in love with love; her quiet sigh is  
Lonely... contented and lonely..._

_A maze of dreams... A maze of lilies..._

* * *

**Author's Note: Who's hyped for Snow halation remastered this coming episode? I know I am! \o/ The next update will probably be coming right after the live telecast of the episode as usual, once I'm overwhelmed by feels and crying like a baby.**

**I actually wanted to write this NozoEli scene longer, but I felt dragging it out would actually decrease the amount of feels so I resisted (nah I'm lying, more like I ran out of ideas orz I can't write fluff to save my life).**


	8. C5: Everything Falls Into Place

**Author's Note: Bumper update y'all, since there's no way I can split Chapters 5 and 9. I hope you all have some time on your hands. You'll see why in a bit.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Everything Falls Into Place**

The home economics room was filled with the savoury smell of curry, along with the occasional pop of bubbles as the pot simmered over a stove. The atmosphere should have been rather calm, perhaps even relaxing, but that was unfortunately not the case as a few members of Muse had commandeered the room for their own purposes. And unlike any other clubs, those girls often brought a hurricane of riotous activity and energy along with them. More so when it was this particular trio.

"Uwaah we're going to be late! Hurry Umi-chan!"

"We wouldn't be behind time if you didn't stop to taste the ingredients every few steps, Honoka! At this rate nothing's going to end up on the serving plate!"

"But we would've been done by now if you weren't so concerned with how your rice balls look! There's still so much seasoned rice left!"

"I- it's important to make your food look appetizing!" The blue-haired girl began to blush as her actions sped up just a little bit, though she still examined each and every rice ball with beady eyes before setting them down carefully.

"This isn't the time to be a perfectionist Umi-chan!"

"Can you two just KEEP QUIET AND MOULD THOSE RICE BALLS?!" Nico exploded from where she was at the stove, stirring away at the pot of curry. "I knew splitting up into these two teams was a bad idea!"

"You just say that because you want to go shopping with Maki-chan!" Honoka stuck her tongue out in defiance. "If we sent you two out together we'll never get our drinks in time!"

Nico fumed as she searched for a counter-argument, since her intention had been seen clean through. After she ladled some of her curry onto a tasting dish, the best she could come up with was "You say that as if you can't rely on me at all!"

There was a lull in the room as the two second-years present in the room exchanged difficult glances, and then decided to go back to moulding their rice balls quietly.

"You girls..."

"Calm down, Nico," Umi, ever the voice of reason, spoke in a gentle tone while she mollified the seething twin-tailed girl. "You're the best at cooking out of all of us, so it's only natural you would end up here."

Perking up at the slightest bit of praise, Nico puffed her chest out. "Of course. What would you all ever do without Nico~" Following a taste of her curry, she threw in a pinch of salt and several herbs without the need of guidebooks or even measuring spoons. Her level of cooking proficiency was indeed leaps and bounds above anyone else in the club, after long years of experience cooking for her siblings whenever her mother was away.

"Amazing..." The archer was spellbound by the senior's efficiency of movement, continuously stirring with one experienced hand while the other reached for the next bottle or container.

"Umi-chan, stop gawking and help me out here! And if you praise Nico-chan too much she'll become unbearable again!"

"What did you say?!"

And that was when the room degenerated into another argument once again.

* * *

"Drinks... drinks..."

"They're usually on the first aisle, Maki-chan. But let's drop by the party goods section first to see if there's anything we lack. Even though we still have leftovers from the last house party we held on the rooftop, something might have slipped our minds."

"That's a good idea. So, the party goods section..." The redhead froze on the spot as she glanced discreetly at the aisle signs, trying not to let her confusion show.

"They're at the other end. Maki-chan, this is the only supermarket near our school, but you haven't been here before?.."

"I- I don't do a lot of grocery shopping." The stuttered reply was flustered, while Maki followed Kotori to their destination.

With a sudden dive on the shelves, the second-year emerged with a pair of round glasses attached to a fake nose and moustache. "Look Maki-chan, moustache-glasses!" With a cough, she started speaking in a foreign accent. "_And who might you be?_"

Maki only returned a flat stare, while mentally checking things off what they already had. "Kotori, you've already used those jokes. Both of them. We still have those moustache-glasses and cat-ears in the clubroom too." _Cutlery, plates, cups... It's a small scale party so we don't need party-poppers or streamers..._

"How about this?" Kotori switched to a plastic beak tied over her mouth, her voice slightly muffled by it. "Cuckoo! Cuckoo!"

"That's a summer bird and it's already late autumn, Kotori..." Letting out a quiet sigh, Maki took hold of her senior's arm and dragged her along to the drinks section. If they didn't get their tasks done any time soon, they would never be able to make it back in time.

Come to think of it though, they had been throwing a lot of parties lately, it was almost as if they were never-ending...

_Hmm, that sounds like a good song idea there. I should talk to Umi about it later._

* * *

When Hanayo finally stumbled onto the rooftop, temporarily blinded by the sudden brightness, her girlfriend immediately pounced on her in a flurry of blue and orange.

"Kayo-chin!~ Eh? Why does Kayo-chin look so weird?"

"I just... had a near-death experience..." The brunette was clutching at her chest as she struggled to catch her breath, chest heaving while her eyes cast about wildly to make sure she was safe.

"Rin doesn't understand nya..."

"I left Nozomi-chan alone to practice the song after passing her the music file and lyrics. When she saw the lyrics, she... wasn't very happy."

The catlike girl's face immediately turned to one of sympathy. "There there, Kayo-chin, you're safe now." To emphasize the point, Rin pulled her girlfriend into a tight hug, her happy grin widening as she felt the warmth in her arms and by her side.

"Hehe, thanks Rin-chan. How did it go with Eli-chan?"

"Eli-chan?.. Uhm... nothing much. Rin just left her alone to practice with the song as well nya," Rin explained after a stuttering start, pausing to think her words through.

"... Oh... Since it was Umi-chan who wrote the lyrics, I can't help but be really afraid for her safety later..."

* * *

"So... let today's party begin!" Nico announced as she raised her cup in the air. "Cheers!"

"Cheers!" The club members' voices echoed loudly and clearly across the rooftop, with everyone responding to the toast heartily. It had been quite a struggle putting this entire thing together, but now they were finally able to enjoy the fruits of their labour. There was orange juice and cola on the table they had brought up, as well as the dishes the cooking team had put together. Set beside cute little rice balls were seaweed wrapped rolls, along with a fresh salad and Nico's usual mouth-watering curry. And of course, enough rice to feed a whole class.

As the girls began digging into the food with Honoka and Hanayo leading the pack, Kotori tilted her head in wonder. "That's strange, Nico-chan usually gives a really long speech..."

The raven-haired girl beside her had her eyebrows twitch while she bit into her rice ball moodily. "No one ever listens to me and just start on the food instead anyway. I have to be on my toes around you girls."

"I'm sure Maki-chan will always be happy to listen to you~" Nozomi was behaving normally without a single hint of awkwardness, though the smile she had shot at Umi when she emerged onto the roof earlier was far too wide to be genuine, and the result had been rather chilling.

"I'm not a sounding-board for Nico-chan!"

"Maki doesn't like listening to me?.." With her eyes glittering with unshed tears, the third-year looked like she was about to burst out crying at the thought of her lover's rejection.

Maki looked rather confused by the turn of events, her face reddening as it forced out words she didn't quite want to say out loud. "I... I never said that!"

"Hehe, just kidding~ Nico knows that Maki-chan can't get enough of Nico~" Throwing her arms around her girlfriend, Nico rubbed her cheeks against the composer's much to her chagrin.

"Le- let go of me! Geez, why can't you just focus on eating and leave me be."

"Only if you'll feed me!"

"W-what are you saying in front of the others?! Just keep quiet already!" A well-timed thrown rice ball found its way into Nico's mouth right as she opened it to continue her teasing, effectively silencing her. Maki let out a breath of relief as she headed towards the food table to get some salad, ignoring her pesky girlfriend who was too busy chewing away to stop her.

It was no less noisier over at the food table though, where Honoka was unwrapping a handkerchief tied around a bento box.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Mom gave me this box of new pastries dad just came up with, and asked me to get everyone's opinion at the party! Here Umi-chan!" With a smile, the leader thrust the box towards her girlfriend.

Umi's hand reached over towards the box, only to pause in mid-air and retract before a frown appeared on her face. "Hmm, that's strange. The packing of this box seems a little uneven."

A pale sheen of sweat appeared on Honoka's forehead, the hand offering the box shaking slightly. "R-really? Aren't you just imagining things?"

"I've never seen your mother use anything but boxes exactly the right size, Honoka. And she always packs them to the brim. This box looks like it's already missing a quarter of what it was supposed to have." The archer's tone wasn't even strict but just flat and factual. Meanwhile her gaze had turned utterly emotionless, causing her girlfriend to inch backwards subconsciously.

"Ah... uhm... maybe she was just busy today or something so she got a bit careless..."

"Honoka."

"Y- Yes Umi-chan?"

"Do you want me to put you on another diet?" This time her voice wasn't even angry, rather it had the tinges of despair and disappointment lingering on its edges that dealt a critical blow to Honoka who hurriedly set the box back down on the table.

"Nooo! But don't worry Umi-chan, I think I must be blessed by a fairy or something, because I'm not getting fatter at all no matter how much I eat! I mean, you would know that as well as Kotori-chan, right..." In a rare show of embarrassment, the ginger-haired girl's cheeks flushed as she gave a sheepish grin.

Faced with the unspoken meaning behind her girlfriend's words, Umi fought off her own encroaching embarrassment by reverting to her drill-instructor persona. "That's still no reason to eat rabidly like you always do! The way you loosely handle your body reflects your loose mindset! I keep telling you this over and over again, but you just never..."

As the storm of berating words continued, Kotori looked on from a few meters away and let out a sigh. But rather than one of sadness, it was one that was thankful and at peace.

"Uhm... Aren't you going to stop them, Kotori-chan?" Hanayo looked up from her bowl of rice and curry just long enough to ask the question before shoving another spoonful in her mouth.

"Nope. Honoka-chan needs Umi-chan to keep her on her toes from time to time. Besides, I think it's really nice that we can stay like this."

"Like this?.."

"Mm! That we can continue loving and caring for one another in our own ways, I think it's a nice miracle." A contented smile appeared on the second-year's face. "So no matter how long or short it lasts, I want us to cherish it while we can."

"Oh..." Hanayo didn't quite understand her senior's emotions at first, but thought she could grasp it after looking at Rin and thinking of her own relationship. That's right, happiness wasn't something to be taken for granted. Maybe she could try cooking ramen for Rin this weekend...

All this while though, Eli had been sitting some distance away from the group near the fence, eating quietly and avoiding everyone's eyes. And surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly), it was Rin who sat next to her, occasionally exchanging words in low voices that no one else could catch. Their conversation was mostly interspersed with weak smiles from Eli, and head-tilts and head-scratches from Rin who clearly wasn't quite able to catch up with the blonde in whatever they were discussing.

Soon enough most of the food was gone, and conversations started dying down as more and more furtive glances were thrown at Nozomi and Eli. The two of them had eaten sparingly, not wanting a full stomach to interfere with their song. The tension was building up though, with no one quite sure how to broach the subject. As for the two, Nozomi only continued sipping at her juice calmly, while Eli's eyes were fixated on the floor.

After another minute, Maki's nerves were the first to snap. "Geez! Let's just get this over with! Nozomi and Eli, are you two ready?"

At those words, the two third-years stared at each other for a long time, their gazes alone conveying a whole wealth of messages that no one else present was privy to. But when they responded in the end, it was in a way almost no one expected. Blushed? Stuttered? Sighed? Simply stood up and got ready? None of those.

Nozomi and Eli _laughed_.

"It's time, Eli-chi."

"This is all your fault. You better apologise to them properly later." The blonde's smile was warm and good-humoured, as she signalled for the girls to gather around her. "Make yourself comfortable for a while. Before we start, Nozomi and I have quite a story to tell..."


	9. C9: The Lily Maze Of Dreams

**Chapter 9: The Lily Maze Of Dreams**

"And that, is the story of how Nozomi and I got together," Eli finished her recount of what had happened during the last days of summer, way before any of the others had started dating each other, as the rest of Muse sat there spellbound by the story they hadn't heard up till now.

When her voice faded away there was silence, a quiet disturbed only by a crow that flew across the sky and cawed as it went past.

Unsettled by everyone's unwavering gaze upon her, the blonde winced. "Uhm... girls?"

"YOU MEAN ALL THAT ALREADY HAPPENED?!" Six voices screamed in outrage and surprise, so loud that they could be heard all the way to the school gate.

Eli, along with Rin who was still sitting beside her, could only let out quiet sighs.

Nozomi smiled.

* * *

When everyone had finally calmed down enough and the flood of questions slowed down to something more coherent, it was Nozomi who took over the spotlight to answer the questions.

And of course, the most important one upon everyone's minds was, why? Eli and Nozomi had actually been the first couple to begin dating a few months ago, and yet had kept it a secret from everyone else all the way till now.

"Maki-chan, do you remember what I told you on the beach? As well as when you came over to my house?"

"... That was quite some time ago. But I guess so."

The spiritual girl had her hands placed serenely on her lap, as she began her explanation anew for everyone else. "You see, I love everyone in Muse. Maybe not as much as I love Eli-chi, but I still love everyone, a lot more than I can just say with words alone. It's true that it was the second-years who first made the group, but I've been watching over everyone since the very start. So I have a really large emotional stake in the group, because to me, Muse has always been the miracle in my life.

"When Eli-chi and I got together, we took a long time to discuss whether we should tell everyone else. Eli-chi was actually in favour of telling the truth, because she didn't like the idea of hiding it and lying to everyone else. But the one thing that held me back, was that I didn't want anyone else to fall behind."

"Nozomi..." Being the one person closest to her other than Eli, Maki felt she could understand just why the violet-haired girl had hidden the truth for so long.

"Love is a wonderful thing," Nozomi continued as her left hand reached out to Eli's and held on with a gentle squeeze. "But it's also scary when it's inside a group, when people start being confused how to act around each other and there's no small amount of awkwardness. Eli and I weren't that selfish to ruin the entire group just for our own happiness, nor did we want the last few girls to feel left out for being the only ones not in a relationship. So we made a compromise to reveal the truth only when everyone else had already found their own happiness. Yet at the same time, my cards kept telling me things wouldn't work out that easily for each and every one of you."

Eli let out a weak smile beside her. "It was quite a struggle watching all of you fight your own feelings. Whether you were afraid the one you loved wouldn't return your feelings, confused over liking a girl, or held back by some other circumstances. But luckily Nozomi and her cards were always right, and you all managed to make your feelings come true with a little push.

"So, I hope you all can forgive us for not telling you the truth from the start. We really did it with you all at heart," the violet-haired girl concluded sheepishly as she looked over the group, her eyes wandering over the faces nodding in acknowledgement and understanding.

"Uooohhh! As expected of Nozomi-chan! This is just like that time she brought Muse together, except she had Eli-chan to help her this time round!" Honoka exclaimed loudly, her volume control broken along with her excitement meter as per normal.

Hanayo nodded in agreement, even as she continued nibbling on one of Honoka's pastries. "Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan are always so caring and thoughtful..."

"Wait a minute!" A lone voice of dissent rang out amongst the murmurs, its displeasure clear to all. And it belonged to none other than the diminutive third-year with a presence far louder than her size. "Are you saying... are you saying all this was for nothing?!"

"No!" Eli and Nozomi cried out immediately in response.

"It made us really happy," the spiritual girl continued as she raised her hands to her chest, her bottom lip quivering with emotion. "I never expected that you all would do something like this, just for us. To go so far as making an entire song and putting together a mini-party... We could've told you all when Hanayo-chan and Rin-chan got together, but I couldn't help but want to see what you all were trying to do. It was selfish, but we really loved it!"

"It was a really large and touching surprise to me too..."

"That's true, Eli-chan was nearly crying when Rin told her nya!" The catlike girl spoke up for the first time in a while, drawing attention onto her in an instant.

Nico changed her target, and continued the offensive like a lawyer tenaciously looking for any signs of weakness. "Speaking of which, Rin, you didn't seem very surprised to find out the truth."

"Eheh... Rin actually knew about Eli-chan and Nozomi-chan for quite a long while now." With a sheepish grin, the orange-haired girl scratched at the back of her head. "That's why Rin kept trying to tell Kayo-chin and everyone else it wasn't necessary at all... But Kayo-chin seemed so fired up so Rin decided to play along nya."

Eli chuckled in amusement. "Rin walked into Nozomi and I while we were... together in the club room's storage, just a few days after we got together. Needless to say, Nozomi made sure Rin wouldn't tell anyone else, so don't blame her for it."

"Tch. If only I had known that would work on her..." Nico grumbled softly to herself, at the memory that it had been Rin who had revealed her relationship with Maki to the rest at first as well.

"Rin-chan..." Hanayo pouted at first, but then shook her head as she squeezed her girlfriend's hand reassuringly. "Never mind, I understand."

"Thanks nya, Kayo-chin~"

A silence fell over the group, as they struggled to put together all the information now that their questions had been answered. It certainly was a surprise, but then again, it didn't really change anything, did it? Muse had always been, and always would be together come what may. Because they were all tied together by love not just within their romantic couples, but also within the platonic friendships they held close to their hearts.

The order had been reversed, but if the two third-years had already attained the happiness everyone else was wishing for them, there couldn't possibly be any complaints.

With a genial smile, Nozomi got onto her feet and gave her girlfriend a hand up.

"Eh? Where are you two going?" Honoka asked blankly with confusion on her face.

With a wink, the spiritual girl delivered her response in a voice filled with amusement. "You girls worked so hard just for the two of us, I think we owe you all a performance~"

* * *

The opening notes of the song blared out dramatic and powerful from the portable radio, striking deep into the girls' hearts as they watched on. Though they had written the music and the lyrics, no one had exactly put them together properly in a performance or recording before, and the one with the best clue as to what it would end up like was probably Umi. But even she watched on in fascination and amazement, at her work that was about to come to life right in front of them. Behind them was Nozomi's video camera mounted on a stand, recording down the entire performance.

_"A maze of dreams... A maze of lilies..."_

Just that opening alone told them all they needed to know, that something dangerous and earth-shaking was about to tear its way through the rooftop. Most of them felt a shiver run down their spine, at the emotion and promise hidden away within those simple words.

"_My eyes that reveal my desires  
__When they search far away  
__They'll make me feel lonely  
__I want to say I'm right here"_

_"Ah! Just the two of us, to the Garden of Glass  
There's no one else; we don't need anyone else  
I want to bloom softly as if I'm about to break"_

Nozomi and Eli had started on opposite sides of the rooftop from the girls' perspective, in front of the stairwell. As they sang they swayed along to the music, their movements matching up perfectly, accentuated by Eli's style and Nozomi's flowing hair. Thrusting their hands out at the end of the first verse they reached for each other, though separated by the large gap between them. A gap just as impassable as the emotional one that had existed between them at the start, as the two girls hid away their own emotions.

_"On our secret swing  
__Swinging with you now  
__Just gazing at each other softly  
__A girl who's fallen in love with love; her quiet sigh is  
__Lonely... contented and lonely..."_

And when the chorus was coming to an end, the two third-years locked eyes with a gaze so gentle, so delicate it seemed tangibly fragile. Their faces were set in expressions none of the other members had ever seen before; it was as if the entire world had ceased to exist except for the two of them.

Maki shifted uncomfortably as she felt her face reddening, struggling not to avert her gaze from the seniors' sincere and heartfelt performance. Even if she had been the one closest to the two of them emotionally, she felt as if she was intruding on a very personal and private scene. Somewhere behind her a warm weight settled on her shoulders, and the bits of a red-ribboned twin-tail coming into the edges of her vision let her know it was Nico who also couldn't stand the amount of... the amount of emotion before them.

_"The heart I want to lock away  
__Doesn't seem to be going anywhere  
__With a lonely me  
__Will you stay here forever"_

_"Ah! A maze of dreams; the glass butterflies  
While tempting me, they're being tempted  
I'll flap my fingers, but they're about to break"_

A faint smile found its way onto Nozomi's face as Eli and her flapped their hands in an imitation of butterflies, their fingers elegantly dancing in the air. The lyrics... well she had been pretty mad at Umi at first, but then amazement had taken its place. It was almost as if the blue-haired girl had read their minds, or known their story all along with how well it fit.

Even the bit of how as she had teased Eli all those times back then, tempting her, she had been simultaneously tempting herself. With the amount of careful detail hidden within its lyrics, the song might as well have been a time-line of how their friendship had developed slowly into a relationship. That long painful journey, the sheer intensity of their emotions, and the sweet, alluring reward at its end.

_"Our secret romance  
__And even though I want to feel you  
__All we can do is painfully gaze at each other  
__The feelings we can't have as girls who are in love with love  
__Why do they have to be so painful?"_

The second chorus ended and cut into the musical interlude, with Eli and Nozomi approaching each other at last and meeting in the centre. After linking their hands, Eli twirled Nozomi about in a graceful spin, ending up with the violet-haired girl's back pressed against her front even with their hands still holding on to each other. As close as they were, they still managed to synchronise their movements enough to continue a slow and exquisite two-step.

Meanwhile Umi was on her knees once again, a whine slowly building up into a shriek at the back of her throat as tears welled up in her eyes from embarrassment. Having been together with Honoka and Kotori this long had given her some immunity, but it appeared she was still largely her old self. As for Honoka, she had her eyes mostly covered by Kotori, who declared it wasn't something for kids to watch. There were still enough gaps in her fingers to peek through though, which the ginger-haired girl took advantage of in awe.

_"We'll fall asleep in our Flower Garden  
I love your hand as it strokes my hair; more..."_

The spiritual girl leaned backwards comfortably into her girlfriend's embrace, her head resting upon Eli's shoulder. In return, the blonde raised a hand to Nozomi's head, slowly and softly stroking her hair. All the while their expressions hadn't changed much, with the deep-seated look of longing and passion in their eyes that refused to budge.

Hanayo felt something plop onto her right shoulder, and the faint scent of Rin's shampoo wafted to her nose. The brunette giggled as she lifted her own hand to stroke her girlfriend's hair as well. Though Rin wasn't the type of girl prone to public displays of affection, it seemed even this coming from their seniors was too much to bear.

_"Our secret romance  
__And even though I want to feel you  
__All we can do is painfully gaze at each other  
__The feelings we can't have as girls who are in love with love  
__Why do they have to be so painful?"_

By this time Eli and Nozomi had spun back around to face each other, gazing into each other's eyes even while they continued to sing. With the slowest and most deliberate of movements, Eli raised her hand to Nozomi's cheek, running the back of her fingers along the smooth skin. The spiritual girl had a tender yet lost look in her eyes, a look of hesitance yet passion and unwavering trust in her partner to lead her on.

Time seemed to freeze as Eli took in every feature of Nozomi's face: The innocent, lost turquoise eyes, that cute button nose just above a pair of glistening and enticing lips. The world fell away, the music almost vanished, and all she could hear was her heartbeat in her ears. Her mouth moved out of muscle memory alone, singing the words that weren't even going through her mind anymore. All she could think of was just how _scrumptious_ her girlfriend looked in front of her, and how she wanted to capture those lips with her own that very moment.

Umi snapped. With a scream of "This is too embarrassing!", she made a dive for the radio, only to be intercepted by Hanayo who threw Rin off as gently as she could before she tackled the blue-haired girl to the ground with a mysterious strength she didn't know she had.

"Let go Hanayo! We have to stop them! This is shameless! An outrage!"

"You can't stop them Umi-chan! Right here and now, a legend is about to be born in the world of school idols!"

"But this isn't something they should do in public!" Umi paused in her struggling to look at the seniors again only to shriek softly, shut her eyes as tight as she could and plugged her ears.

_"On our secret swing  
Swinging with you now  
Just gazing at each other softly  
A girl who's fallen in love with love; her quiet sigh is  
Lonely... contented and lonely..."_

Throughout all the commotion the two third-years hadn't wavered from their performance one bit, it really did seem as if they could no longer notice everything else. As the final chorus ended Eli's head dipped in closer at last, bringing their lips together in a hurried kiss before they sang their final line.

_"A maze of dreams... A maze of lilies..."_

Communicating with their eyes alone, Eli took hold of Nozomi's hand once more. _I'll never let you be alone again, because I'll always be here for you from now on._

Nozomi's lost eyes gained a twinkle to them, a smile tugging at her lips. _Then lead on, my darling prince. Deeper into our very own Garden of Glass, our lily maze of dreams._

Even before the music had come to an end, the two of them gripped each other's hand tightly and ran away into the stairwell, leaving the rooftop, the world, and seven overwhelmed collapsed girls far behind.

* * *

**Omake**

Eli: And that, is the story of how I met your- wait a minute, that doesn't sound quite right.

Nozomi: I think that's the wrong show, Eli-chi.

Eli: I don't understand everyone's reactions though... I thought it was pretty obvious our story took place before everyone else's. I mean, I dropped so many hints while telling the story...

Nozomi: Well, some of it was pretty misleading. You talked about the live and midterms that had gone by, but you were actually talking about the summer live and midterms. Meanwhile Nico-chi, Maki-chan and the second-years were fretting about the upcoming ones in the next season.

Eli: Ah, the next live. I wonder what our audience will think of my new tagline... Cool and Cute...

Everyone: Elichika!

Eli: Harasho! I did mention though, that during that last live, I was still Student Council President. And that first story I told took place in summer: we were wearing our summer uniforms and all, plus the summer birds were still around.

Nozomi: It was a pretty hot summer. Sometimes I really couldn't tell if you were blushing or just feeling hot. Or, feeling _hot_.

Nico: Get a room, you two.

Eli: ... *blushes* A-anyway, that story about our very first study session... well, it had to come before all the other study sessions we ever did after that, right? It's only normal to start with the material from the very first year and make lists before focused revision. All the times we were helping you girls with your problems we were also juggling it with our study sessions, but those all came afterwards.

Nozomi: Plus, we were still in the student council room then. *wistful sigh*

Eli: Yeah, the student council room...

*Both third-years turn to look at the second-years*

Umi: ... What?

Nozomi: Return our make-out room! Now! I demand justice! Eli-chi and I don't have anywhere else in school to go and you girls took over it just as Eli-chi and I started making precious memories inside!

Honoka: No waaaaay! Umi-chan, Kotori-chan and I need it as much as you two do!

Kotori: Uhm, if you don't mind, we could always share it... I wouldn't mind being together in the same room...

Eli & Umi: *faces puff red with steam* No thank you very much.

Eli: Well that aside, Nozomi and I were always unnaturally close throughout everyone else's stories before this, but I guess it just seemed normal of Nozomi huh?

Nozomi: It's my job to tease the girls I like after all~ But we were always that close anyway, Eli-chi! I think the most dangerous thing we mentioned came during Nico-chi and Maki-chan's story when we decided to get them together.

Eli: Ah, you mean that point where I said "Together? You mean like-".

Nozomi: Mmhmm. You actually meant 'like us', but it could've just as well been 'like dating'. And I followed up with "Oh? Why, surely Eli-chi isn't new to the idea of two girls dating?"

Eli: Well, that was indeed true. No way I could've been unfamiliar with that concept after... us.

Nozomi: There's also the fact that we never referred to each other as "best friend" in everyone's stories up till the flashbacks we just narrated since our relationship was already "girlfriends" for all of those.

Eli: *eyebrow twitches* That's... pushing it a bit, Nozomi. Well it's deliberate, but there's no way anyone could've picked up on that!

Hanayo: Then those cards I saw Nozomi-chan looking at...

Nozomi: Hmm? I usually use just one card when I want to tell the near future only. A three-card spread gives more details on which situation it refers to by denoting past, present and future. The Lovers in the past position means exactly what it says. The Moon in the present position indicated an illusion or deception. Judgement is a card of reckoning and revelation.

Honoka: So your cards were saying... Ahh! I s... still don't get it.

Umi: *facepalm* Nozomi's cards were saying that Eli and her had already been dating for some time. And that they were hiding it from us. And finally, it was time to tell the truth.

Nico: I still can't believe Nozomi and Eli lied to us all for so long.

Eli: Technically I never did. *devious smile* No one ever asked directly, and the closest I ever came to addressing my relationship with Nozomi was that you all had the wrong idea.

Maki: That's just semantics, Eli.

Eli: You don't spend a year as Student Council President without learning how to play with words. *eyebrow twitches*

*brief silence*

Hanayo: *prodding fingers* But Nozomi-chan, why was there that part earlier on...

Nozomi: Shush, Hanayo-chan.

Hanayo: But!...

Nozomi: *raises hands menacingly*

Hanayo: Hiiii! *cringes*

Nozomi: Good girl. I'll explain it to you off-screen later, this isn't the right story for that.

Rin: Now I'm curious nya!

Nozomi: *flat stare* You're always curious Rin. And you're always the first to know everything.

Rin: Second nya! Nozomi-chan always beats me to the punch!

Nozomi: *flips out a tarot card* That is indeed true.

Maki: ... Can we wrap this up now?

Eli: *grabs Nozomi's hand* Well, it's been a great party girls, thanks for everything! *runs off into school building again*

Nico: Did they just...

Maki: ... leave us here to do all the clean-up?

Everyone: ... *sigh*

* * *

**Author's Note: Yes, quite a long update. Let me address the points in order.**

**These two chapters are filled with references to the recent few anime episodes of course, as well as the house party that took place in LLSIF's story. As for the start of chapter 9, I had hoped for the same feel as the start of S2 Episode 4 when everyone goes "That was your dream?!" at Honoka, not sure if I conveyed it well enough.**

**So... yes, the plot. I've been dropping quite a few clues hidden behind a few red-herrings to distract you all, which I pointed out in the omake since it wouldn't quite fit in the story format (also, writing 9-way conversations in story format is a real pain so I got lazy). I've already had this planned out all the way since my second story which was NicoMaki, so the foreshadowing started all the way back then.**

**Rin's prior knowledge was only foreshadowed in her story's epilogue, and this story's Chapter 1. I tried to work in a bit during Chapter 4 but it wasn't obvious at all so it doesn't count. =/**

**Anyway, I would really like to know if you guys managed to figure it out before these two chapters, so I can gauge what is the appropriate level of foreshadowing I should be using. Some of you may smack yourselves in the head after reading the omake, but don't take it to heart because these things really aren't that obvious until pointed out (and needless to say I seriously don't expect the average person to have a working knowledge of tarot cards). ^^" So yes, do leave a review or PM me whether you figured it out or not.**

**Regarding the Garden of Glass performance, credits to two things: The first is sm22057561 on NicoVideo, as subbed by Kuroi Kishi on Youtube and titled "Garden of Glass [Garasu no Hanazono] (Eng Sub) EliNozo". If you haven't seen it, you'll want to give it a look, it's pretty hilarious. **

**The second is the actual performance of Garden of Glass during the 4th live by NanjoIno and Kussun. That whole part about starting on opposite ends of the stage, the hand caressing cheek part, the holding hands and running away, all those ****_actually took place between the voice-actresses_****. Till today I still can't get the lost and passionate look on Kussun's face out of my memory. The way they devoted themselves to that performance, much respect. Unfortunately this particular performance is under Day 1 Part 2 which won't be out till end September, bundled with the fourth anime BD.  
I wish I had used watching that heartfelt performance as an reason to glomp the person next to me back then though. I'm sure "overcome by emotion" would've made for a good excuse, right? *glances at a certain reader***

**There are actually quite a few discrepancies Hanayo noticed, but they're not that relevant to this story. The right story of mine in question is actually Music START!. So don't worry about it. =D**

**And... S2 Episode 9. I was crying even before they started singing. ;_; It was just a perfect episode, really. But the slew of announcements that followed it were somehow _even_ crazier. From a song preview of the 4th live BD (Snow halation, naturally), the opening of the 5th live (～Dream Sensation!～) website to the upcoming NicoMaki duet song (AT LAST. OUR PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED.) bundled with the second anime BD due to be released end July... ****My emotions are best described with Emitsun's just-tweeted words (in reference to Snow halation) which goes something like "I am really glad to have met this song. Such bliss." Except for me, it's the whole Love Live! fandom. I am really glad to be alive right now orz.**


	10. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

It was nearing evening in the school compound when two girls, linked at their hands, ran into the student council room and shut the door tightly behind them. Though this wasn't exactly their private spot anymore, it was still somewhere that would always have a place in their hearts.

Besides, while the other club members tidied up the remnants of the party they would be using the club room, so it wasn't exactly safe there at the moment.

"A bit... aggressive today... aren't you, Eli-chi?" The comment was delivered between pants, the owner of the voice struggling to regain her breath after a rather vigorous make-out session. Nozomi had a hand held up to her chest, struggling to calm her heart rate. Unfortunately her pulmonary muscles had a mind of their own and were still racing madly, thundering in her ears and almost pounding out of her chest.

Eli didn't let her girlfriend's weakness slip past. Diving in again, their lips crashed roughly against each other as Eli pressed the violet-haired girl against the wall, her tongue sweeping Nozomi's mouth with increasingly hungry strokes, hands roaming over her hair and every inch of skin she could reach. The blonde had nothing but a crazed look in her sapphire eyes as she kissed her girlfriend with a ferocity neither knew she was capable of.

Not that Nozomi wasn't savouring each and every single second of it. Her own hormones were flaring up, and she was enjoying this side of Eli she hadn't known existed. Their usual kisses were mild and restrained; even when they got intimate with each other it had been at a slow, relaxed pace. Befitting of the calm, controlled and disciplined Ayase Eli everyone knew, of course.

Except the Eli before her now seemed like a savage predator. And Nozomi was thoroughly relishing in the sensation of being her prey.

Sharp nails dug into her side, though not deep enough to draw blood. The pain mingled with the pleasure running throughout her body, causing Nozomi to let out a high-pitched moan that didn't sound like it had come from her at all. But then again she had all but lost control of her own voice since five minutes ago when they started.

It was only a while later that Eli's head moved back to put some distance between them, though their bodies remained pressed together as tightly as ever. Her eyes regaining some semblance of reason once again, she seemed to be struggling with herself as she growled at her girlfriend.

"Don't... don't ever show me those eyes again."

"Which ones?" the spiritual girl tilted her head teasingly after catching her breath. "You mean these-"

"Don't!" Eli yelled as she averted her gaze, "If you show me those lost eyes again I won't be able to take it Nozomi!"

With a hand caressing her girlfriend's cheek, Nozomi turned Eli's head back to face her once again. "I don't know about that, Eli-chi~ Honestly, I enjoyed it."

"... Really?" Eli's tone was filled with hesitation and guilt, at the almost one-sided rampage she had gone on.

"I like every side of you, Eli-chi, no matter what. And to see you so desperate makes me feel really desirable. Besides, you really should let loose once in a while; I didn't know you had it in you~"

Embarrassment was starting to come back to Eli's consciousness. "I don't know what came over me..." she muttered before she slid down the wall next to her girlfriend. When she had seen those eyes of Nozomi's during the performance, she had started to feel incredibly feverish; all her actions after that were almost on autopilot. It had taken her all her self-control to make it to the student council room before ravishing her girlfriend instead of right there and then on the rooftop. But now that her hormonal rush was satiated, she was starting to feel tired, content, maybe even a little sleepy.

"It's fine, isn't it~" Nozomi soothed her girlfriend, laying her head upon Eli's thighs. With her hair free of its hair ties and her uniform unbuttoned and in disarray, she looked just about ready to fall asleep as well.

Eli smiled. It was a reversal of their usual positions, but in a way it also felt exactly the same. So she proceeded to stroke the spiritual girl's hair, softly humming the tune of the song they had just sung.

...

After a while Nozomi spoke up. "So, are we going to perform this at the next live?"

Heat flared up in the blonde's cheeks at the mere thought. "In front of our friends only is okay, but not in front of everyone... Also I don't think I can survive another one of those performances."

"Looks like Eli-chi really needs to get that predator inside under control~"

"No-Nozomi! Mou!"

Silence stretched between the two as Eli continued her rhythmic actions, the soft sensation of Nozomi's hair beneath her fingers was putting even her to sleep.

"Ne Nozomi, there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Mm?"

"What made you change your mind that day here? The day we confessed, you were crying."

Surprise flashed through turquoise eyes, before a dull gleam of understanding. "Eli-chi didn't hear what I said that day?"

"No?..."

Nozomi let out a weary smile, reaching into her blazer pocket and pulling out a single tarot card. 'The World'.

"Well, it doesn't really matter any more. It's just, I wasn't about to let anyone else get to you before me this time round."

"Nozomi..." For the first time in a while, Eli felt as though there was a barrier between the two of them in understanding. With her spiritual power, Nozomi had caught a glimpse of something beyond her, beyond them. The blonde still had no clue what it was, but the sheer intensity of emotions she had seen emanating from Nozomi back then as well as the knowledge and comprehension within her turquoise eyes right now, made her feel slightly uneasy.

But if her girlfriend insisted it was no longer a matter to be concerned about, Eli knew it was something she could put her trust in, and so firmly put the matter out of her mind.

Getting up, the spiritual girl put her tarot card away and brushed the dust off her back. "I didn't eat a lot during the party since we were going to be singing. Why don't we get something on our way back?"

"Hmm... another parfait? Sounds good to me." Eli stood up herself, only to be pushed against the wall hard. "Nozomi?"

"Ne Eli-chi, I'll save some space for dessert later, so for now I think it's my turn to enjoy my meal, okay?" There was a hard glint in the turquoise eyes, a primal look of passion and lust that made Eli feel hot and weak simultaneously. Nozomi ran a tongue over her own lips teasingly, an action that made them all the more alluring and effectively freezing all coherent thought in Eli's mind.

"Nozomi- mmph!" Eli's protests were silenced by the lips that mashed into hers, and a tongue that licked away at her lips until they opened to give it access. Giving up, she surrendered to her heart once again and let her girlfriend take the lead this time round.

Even if they were always able to read each other's innermost emotions and thoughts, it was nice to know they still had surprises in store sometimes. And day by day, they would continue learning little things about themselves and each other.

Eli was sure, that there definitely was a bright and long future together ahead of them...

"Oh? I didn't know Eli-chi was able to make that kind of sound~" Nozomi teased as a particular combination of nibbling on her girlfriend's ear and a finger running down her spine elicited a rather high-pitched gasp from the blonde. "What other sounds can I get Eli-chi to make, I wonder~"

... So long as Nozomi's teasing didn't kill her along the way.

**Fin.**

* * *

**Author's Note: The reason why I waited so long to post this was of course, it's 9th June in Japan right now, and that means it's Nozomi's birthday! Happy birthday Non-tan~ May your vision ever be filled with cute girls and your hands be given the chance to... never mind. xD**

**As for this fic... well, w****ow. A part of me is in disbelief I made it this far. But first off, thanks to the Love Live Wikia for the song lyrics, the sources of inspiration I credited along the way, everyone who followed/favourited, and especially those who bothered to take the time to leave a review.**

**This fic was special because along the way I really upped my standard in descriptive writing. People who have been following my stories should have noticed the sudden jump in quality from the shameful low it was before. xP I am constantly struggling to improve, and I hope I can keep it up.**

**Anyway, it's been a ridiculously long journey for me. The truth is I intended to stop at only 'Love marginal' at the start. But along the way I rediscovered how much I loved writing, and I couldn't stop. So I thought I would complete this whole arc at least, but even while doing so a far larger overarching plot was already forming in my mind... I'm still debating whether I should really continue writing the next arc, which is Summer.**

**So in this hypothetical Summer Arc, I will be using a different set of pairings as hinted by Nozomi in this epilogue. Which ones? I don't know yet. If you have an OTP you want to see, now is the time to tell me through a review or PM, (preferably along with why you think they should be together so I have something to work with). I will be taking a short break from writing to refresh myself, but I hope I can find the gumption to continue writing.**

**If you liked this story, consider leaving a review/favourite to let me know. =) Your support is appreciated.**

**So until we meet again, hopefully in the next arc of this 'Songs of Muse; Songs for You' series.**

**Thank you for reading.**


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